


Under the Table

by wherenonagoes



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-18
Updated: 2014-04-11
Packaged: 2018-01-16 06:13:55
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 34,819
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1335046
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wherenonagoes/pseuds/wherenonagoes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Levi is a man for hire, and Erwin Smith hires him a lot, but this time he doesn't have murder or blackmail on the table.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ofcastiels](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ofcastiels/gifts).



> This is for Brooke, who wanted eruri porn, so I obliged.

Levi threw his cigarette onto the ground, crushing it with the heel of his boot. Wind whipped around him, and more often than not his cravat swept up to hit his face, slowly angering him. He didn’t want to meet anyone today, the weather throwing off his mood. There were several people he had told he would meet with today. It was a custom, to tell multiple companies that he would meet them, only to drop all of them except one. It was a way he kept on his toes, and a way he kept out of the hair of the police. He just so happened to be planning to meet one of his customers around this stupid coffee shop, but his patience was starting to wear thin.

“I’m sorry I kept you waiting,” a voice came from beside him, and Levi looked up to see the man he had been waiting for, Erwin Smith. As one of the founders and CEO of Smith & Zoë’s Incorporated, he dressed for success, there was no other way to put it. A large, heavy lined, black trenchcoat went down to his knees, and underneath Levi was sure he wore a five hundred dollar suit, if not one more expensive. Levi wasn’t usually one to research his employers, so whatever exactly Erwin did with his company, he didn’t know. What he did know, was that Erwin was willing to pay a large sum of money for whatever it was he wanted, and that’s what had them continuing to meet.

“You better be. You can make it up by buying me the most expensive drink in there.” Levi let Erwin open the door for him, and took a spot at a table in the corner, watching the rest of the room. Erwin joined him soon after, two cups of steaming coffee in his hands, the whipped cream and chocolate sauce on Levi’s beginning to melt into the liquid. They stayed silent for a few minutes more, letting more people walk into the coffee shop. They had purposely planned to be in there during the busiest time of the day, so that way it would be harder to overhear them.

“This job isn’t like the previous ones. I’m not having you blackmail anyone,” Erwin informed him. Levi raised an eyebrow.

“Murder then? I haven’t done that in a bit, but I’m willing to continue. Who’s on your list?”

“Not murder either,” Erwin smiled, drinking from his coffee and folding his hands on the table. He looked straight into Levi’s eyes, and the shorter man couldn’t help but scowl. What was this guys game? He had many deeds to offer, but what he did people wanted. The other man’s blues eyes shone in the lamplight above them, and Levi hated the way it made him look mysterious. That was his job.

“Then what? I’ve only got a few tricks up my sleeve, old man. What more could you possibly want from me? May I remind you that you haven’t fully paid your last expense. You’re lucky I’m here at all.” Levi picked up his drink, motioning towards him and then gulping the rest down, not caring that he burned his tongue in the process. Erwin nodded, finishing his drink as well before continuing.

“It’s part of the payment as well as another job. I need you to go to this address tonight, and I’ll meet you there. Get there by seven, and don’t be late, or I’ll be quite angry.” Erwin passed him a paper he took from his pocket, and Levi picked it up, unfolding it.

“What’s this? Some store you want me to rob? I’m not a petty thief, Erwin.”

“I know, Levi. Just trust me on this,” Erwin smiled as he spoke, and he stood afterward. The light from above almost made his combed back hair look like a golden halo, and Levi couldn’t help but hate him more. It wasn’t fair that he could out-cool him without even trying. “I’ll see you tonight, and dress appropriately.”

With that, Levi watched as Erwin left the coffee shop and hailed down a taxi, leaving him there to wonder what the hell Erwin was trying to do. Levi groaned and threw his cup away, leaving the shop and entering the harsh winter wind that circled around his feet.

 

* * *

 

 

It was a restaurant. The address Erwin had given him was to the best restaurant in town, one where you had to plan years in ahead, where young couples saved up their yearly income to go there for maybe their tenth anniversary. Or where you had to have money and influence to cut ahead of anyone else, and Levi was more than sure that was exactly what Erwin had done. It was somewhat flattering that he would go to those expenses for him, but Levi only grew more cautious and curious as to what the tall bastard had in mind. He dressed like Erwin had told him to, in his own suit, though one he’d had for years and one he wouldn’t replace. He’d made his first kill in that suit, and Levi swore he could still smell the blood from his victim. His cravat stayed in lieu of a tie, and then he bid himself ready. It was only four in the afternoon. He was not getting ahead of himself.

Levi, to pass the time, skimmed over the news channels, wondering what other chaos he could interpret as his competitors failing their jobs, and smirking at their failures, which was his equivalent of a laugh. He lit a cigarette, and then another, and then two more. He finished off the last pack he had on him when it was time to leave, and he couldn’t help but feel naked without some form of nicotine on his person. He ignored that though, and instead hailed a taxi outside his apartment building, telling him the address, and that he could take however long he wanted.

Levi arrived at the restaurant at a quarter past seven, an unignorable smirk on his face. Sasha’s was a place with only eight tables, and only two waiters. You were expected to wait there at least a half hour before your meal arrive, or more if you ordered previous courses, at least an hour. Meals were precious, and the chef took her time to make sure every single one was perfect, and they all were. Levi walked into the front door and was immediately asked what his reservation was under, and was about to answer when the door opened again, and Erwin stepped in behind him.

“It’ll be under Balmont,” he told the host, smiling down at Levi. “It’s for two.”

The host showed them to one of the tables, the one closest to the window, and told them that their pre planned meal would begin serving in at least twenty minutes. He also told them how honored he was to receive Erwin Smith and Levi Balmont at his table, and was about to continue when Erwin waved him off. They sat there then, cups filled with wine, staying silent as Erwin didn’t take his eyes off of Levi, and Levi couldn’t take his eyes off the glass in front of him.

“Fuck you for using my name. I never told it to you, and you go and put a reservation under it?” He took much too big of a gulp of the wine, not caring for letting it set in his mouth to enjoy the taste. Erwin only chuckled, taking small sips of his own wine, like was advised.

“I would have thought you knew what I have at my fingertips. I know more than just your last name, but nevermind that. I’ve got a request for you,” Erwin placed his glass down, pulling another folded piece of paper out of his pocket.

“Don’t tell me that’s another invitation to some fancy ass place that I could never afford. If it is, I’ll cut off your dick while you sleep,” Levi threatened, taking another swallow of the wine, already over halfway done with the glass he’d been given. His mind was beginning to feel foggy, and he waved the waiter down, telling him only water after that. He didn’t want to be intoxicated around this man, not when he was obviously more dangerous than Levi was himself. And he killed people.

“It’s not. It’s a form. I’ve seen a lot of you in the last year. How many jobs have I given you?” Erwin placed the paper on the tabletop, pushing it over. Levi picked it up and pocketed it, he could look at it later when there weren’t others around.

“You’ve had me pull twenty eight jobs, what about it?”

“Well, you never thought to think why I would hire you more than once? A regular person would know that going with the same person even twice raises the potential of getting caught, but here I am, conspiring with you for the twenty ninth time in only a year. How do you feel about that?” Erwin took another sip, looking at Levi over the rim of his gold rimmed glass. Levi ground his teeth, trying to figure out what it was he was doing. He wasn’t quite sure if he was angry or turned on by how thought out his plan seemed to be.

“Because you like me, you’ve grown to trust me, a mistake might I add. And I’m feeling like my pockets are about to become pretty heavy with your money.”

“Possibly. We can continue this after the meal,” Erwin placed his glass down as the waiter came with the beginning of what was to be the largest meal Levi had ever eaten.

There were sixteen courses, and though they were small, by the eighth one, Levi wasn’t sure he could eat anymore. He watched Erwin eat the whole time, using his knife and spoon with precision, pulling the utensils out of his mouth slower than publicly appropriate, eyeing Levi whenever he did. More than once Levi had to shift in his seat, and he didn’t like the reason why.

Dessert finally came, and Levi wanted to shoot the waiter. It felt like they were fattening him up for Christmas dinner the next week, and he didn’t like it one bit. Erwin still sat across from him, completely and perfectly composed, wiping his mouth with the silk napkin that he had sticking out from the collar of his suit.

Whatever was put in front of him was some combination of German and French chocolate, or at least that’s what Levi thought he heard, and of course, like the rest of the meal, it was fantastic and fattening. Once finished, the waiter came with the bill in a small folder. Erwin took the folder, glancing inside, and then pressed his American Express card into it, handing it back.

“I hope you’re ready for a nice night, Levi. We’re not finished yet,” Erwin signed the receipt, and rose from his seat, taking the napkin from his collar, and the host replacing his trenchcoat on his back. He buttoned it up and smiled down at Levi, who still sat in his seat. Levi didn’t let them help him get his coat on, and followed Erwin out of the restaurant, surprised to see a small black car waiting for them.

“Where are we going, Erwin?”

“You’ll see,” Erwin teased, holding the door open for Levi, getting in after him. The car ride was fast, though at ten at night it wasn’t expected to be as slow as the rush hours, so they quickly arrived at their destination. When they exited the car, Levi almost cursed and spat on the ground. Erwin waved to the car driver, and the vehicle sped off.

“How the fuck did you know where I live?” Levi ground his teeth again, approaching the building, taking out his key to enter. Erwin stayed behind him, the playful smirk still on his face.

“I told you I know people who know things, this particular information wasn’t hard to get. Easier than your name at least. Come on, let’s get up there already.” Erwin lead from there, and Levi almost found a foul taste in his mouth, though the chocolate from earlier ground it out. How did this man know so much about him? It wasn’t right, and went against everything that Levi had tried to gain for himself. Security and privacy, those were his main goals, and they had both been ruptured by the tall blondie in front of him.  

They finally got to Levi’s floor, the ninth, and Levi went in front of him, pulling the key to the door out of his pocket and unlocking it. He had an idea of what was going to happen, but whether or not it did depended on what Erwin did. They both entered the apartment, and though it was small, Erwin complimented it like it was nothing, like he didn’t own a penthouse in some big building downtown.

“It looks nice, it looks lived in,” Erwin hung up his coat by the door, and began to loosen his tie as he explored more. Levi watched him, staying by the door before taking his own coat off. It seemed as though Erwin found his way into Levi’s room, and he followed him inside, only for Erwin to close the door, a smirk on his face.

“That form is for my penthouse, to let the landlord know that they’ll be two people living up there as of New Years,” it rolled off his tongue as easy as breathing, and Levi scowled at him.

“Whoever said I would agree?” It happened quickly, Erwin’s hand going out and pulling on his cravat, pulling them flush together.

“I’m pretty sure you will,” Erwin smiled down at him, his eyes shining with lust, and Levi tried his hardest to swallow and still seem in charge. Then Erwin closed the few inches between them, claiming Levi’s mouth with his own.

It wasn’t as though Levi hadn’t expected it before. He’d seen Erwin a lot, and knew how he looked at him, Levi knew how he looked at Erwin too, and he couldn’t say he didn’t want this. It had been a thought that he’d let simmer for a long time in the back of his head. He didn’t actually hate him, but it was easy to play it off like that. He wasn’t so sure he could still do that though.

Erwin’s hand held him close, his neck feeling tight with his grip on his cravat, but soon it was pulled out all the way, and Erwin’s hands began to roam down his chest, quickly undoing all the buttons he could reach.

“You know… I didn’t think it would be this easy to seduce you..”

“What made you think you were the one seducing?” Levi breathed back, a growl tucked in his throat as he undid the rest of the buttons on his shirt, throwing, almost ripping it off of him. Erwin licked his lips and kissed him again, his hands going behind his head, almost pulling him off the ground. Levi continued to grow violent, and bit Erwin’s lower lip, his eyes looking into the deep oceans of the man in front of him. Erwin’s eyes gleamed, and he began to undo his own shirt, Levi quickly joining him.

Erwin’s chest was not like Levi had imagined it. He had imagined smooth, lean muscles, not too defined, but still present, something of a small belly. How could one that sat at his desk all day, maintain such a figure? Levi almost gasped, he would have had Erwin let him breathe more. His chest was chiseled, like the statues of the gods in all the fancy museums that were littered around the city. It took more self restraint that Levi had not to put his hand on him, to let them map the expanse of skin he’d revealed.

“It’s fine, go on,” Erwin let them both up for air, and Levi swallowed thickly, placing his hands on Erwin’s abdomen, feeling the smooth skin and the rippling amounts of muscle underneath.

“Shit, Erwin,” Levi moved his head closer, his mouth hovering over his chest, and he hesitantly kissed it. When he did Erwin reacted immediately, picking him up and turning them around, pushing Levi against the wall. The breath was pushed out of him as Erwin kissed him again, holding him there with mostly his powerful legs.

“Say my name again,” he spoke into his mouth. Levi nodded, forgetting everything that had happened before then.

“Erwin, you piece of shit, what are you doing?” Though it sounded harsh, Levi wanted both of their pants off ten minutes ago, his dress slacks showing his erection as though it were a window, and Erwin’s faring no better. Levi fumbled with Erwin’s tie, unzipping it and palming Erwin’s cock through the fabric. Erwin continued to kiss him until Levi pushed his hands underneath his briefs, wrapping his hand around his cock. Erwin then buried his head in Levi’s neck, trying to keep quiet. “Get these fucking pants off.”

“Only if, only if you let me fuck you,” Erwin kissed into him, and Levi quickly nodded. Erwin lowered him to the ground, and both of them quickly lost the remainder of their clothing, and Levi almost wished he hadn’t agreed. He’d thought his chest was that of a god, the rest of his body was the same, and he couldn't help but feel small compared to him.

“Don’t worry, Levi Balmont, I’ll take care of you,” Erwin picked him up again, almost as if it were effortless, and again leaned them against the wall, his hands to either side, Levi’s legs wrapping around him. Their dicks were flush against one another, and Levi almost couldn’t bear the heat. Saying his last name made him growl though, he was still angry about that.

“How the fuck do you even know that, Erwin Smith?” Levi grabbed Erwin’s face, bringing them together again before he could reply. Erwin chuckled, and he rolled his hips up into Levi’s.

“When I found out where you lived, I simply asked the landlord for a list of the occupants. Your name was easy to find.”

“Fuck you,” Levi bit down on his lip again, not hard, but enough to show that there was still a tiny bit of anger behind Erwin digging into his life.  Erwin only laughed, though he stopped when Levi lowered one hand to their cocks, holding them together and giving a few strong strokes. Erwin closed his eyes, rolling his hips with his hand, and then he picked up Levi from the wall, holding him until he dropped him onto his bed.

“I’m going to fuck you liked you asked me, and then you’re going to sign that form to come and live with me,” Erwin picked up his pants, digging around in the pockets until he came back with a small bottle of lube, and a condom. Levi rolled his eyes, though at the sight of Erwin opening the lube and slicking up his fingers, his cock twitched.

“Fine. Just get on with it already, I only have enough time with each customer.” Erwin chuckled and moved onto the bed, spreading Levi’s legs and smiling at the sight of his tight pink hole. This wasn’t new to either of them, this was in fact the second time they’d had an encounter like this, though the first had been in a different city, and Levi had gone under a different name. “And I swear to god, if you come before me I’ll kill you.”

“I know, I know,” and with his last syllable, Erwin pushed one finger into him. Levi gasped, closing his eyes, gripping the blankets next to him. “We might be here awhile then.”

Levi didn’t know what he meant by that until they had been on the bed an hour already. Erwin had three fingers in him, and Levi could barely hold himself in. It had gone on like that, Erwin teased him, scissoring his fingers, kissing the tip of his cock and licking around the base, not giving any real pressure, just slowly building up Levi’s orgasm. And he hated him for it.

“You’re the biggest bastard there is, Erwin.”

“You could have come by now, you know, but I like doing this, it’s not my fault you’re holding it in,” Erwin sighed, but a smirk still played on his lips. He took one of his fingers out, and Levi whined at the absence.

“If you just fucked me like I asked we could have both come by now and you could be on your way.” Levi shuddered as Erwin pushed his fingers in further, pressing lightly against his prostate, again a tease. Erwin then pulled his fingers out, and began to line himself up. How Erwin had been able to handle having a hard cock and not even touching it once that whole hour, Levi didn’t care, he wanted to be fucked, and fucked hard and-

Erwin pressed the tip of his cock against Levi’s hole, and began rubbing it against him. Levi wanted to kill him, teasing like that. He moved himself closer, and took Erwin’s dick in his hand, guiding it in and pushing down onto him. It was almost a relief to finally be filled with him, and Levi closed his eyes, biting his lip as he pushed further. Erwin leaned over him, his hands holding him over the bed.

“I guess I’ll fuck you now.” Erwin moved, and soon enough he was in Erwin’s arms, being held above the ground.

“Shit,” Levi gasped, his arms clutching Erwin’s back as gravity pulled him down. Erwin kissed his cheek, smiling against his skin, and then he began to move his hips.

He was strong, strong enough that while holding Levi, he was able to maintain a fast pace, fucking into him like his life depended on it, hitting Levi’s prostate without fail every single time, as though he’d memorized the placement. Levi yelled each time, his hands wrapping around Erwin’s head, bracing himself against him. Levi came in less than a minute, tightening around Erwin’s dick, but that didn’t slow him. He was relentless, his head buried in Levi’s neck, just continuing to pound into him. He pushed Levi against another wall, and continued, his breathing erratic as he fucked into him.

“Erwin, fuck,” Levi gasped again, all too sensitive to what his partner was doing, biting down on his lip as Erwin came, pushing him against the wall so forcefully he was sure they’d break it.

A minute or two later, Erwin slowly lowered him, pulling out and almost falling to the ground, his legs were shaking harder than anything, and Levi couldn’t help but laugh.

“You know, we could have finished that a lot earlier if you hadn’t been such a tease,” Levi wobbled over to the bed, his ass aching from the pounding. He sat down, and reached over to the nightstand, pulling out another pack of cigarettes and a lighter. Erwin walked over to him, and took both of them from his hands, placing them back.

“I know, but then I wouldn’t have been able to stay the night,” he smiled down at him and flopped onto the bed, pulling the covers over him. Levi rolled his eyes.

“You’re a pushy asshole.”

“You’re going to be this pushy asshole’s husband, now come to bed and sleep with me,” Erwin kicked Levi lightly under the covers.

“Whatever,” Levi replied, joining him. He wasn’t one for cuddling, but as soon as he was on his side, Erwin’s hot naked body pulled flush against his, and it was hard to not fall asleep to something like that. “You still owe me for the last job.”

“I’ll fuck you again in the morning,” Erwin whispered into his hair. Levi guessed that was okay, and let the warmth from the body behind him lull him to sleep. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Erwin and Levi both go to work.

Sharing an apartment with Erwin was not weird; it was insanely weird. Levi was so used to living by himself, of playing music as loud as he wanted until the neighbors bothered him, and only then did he put in headphones. He was used to keeping his house clean. It was always spotless, and neat, and orderly, and upon entering Erwin’s apartment for the first time, he almost vomited.

It was the morning after they’d had their second round of sex ever, and both of them looked more than a little disheveled. It hurt for Levi to walk, but he didn’t show it, and he definitely didn’t let Erwin pity him. They took a taxi, Levi’s stuff all in one suitcase in the trunk. It didn’t take long to arrive at the place Erwin lived. They turned in the form at the front office, and the two of them went up the elevator to Erwin’s penthouse. Erwin inserted his key into the floor dial, so the door would let them both onto his entire floor apartment.

“How do you live in this shit?” Levi treaded carefully through the penthouse, following Erwin to his room, trying to not see all the work he would need to do.

“I’m not here often enough to do anything about it,” Erwin simply replied, opening the door to the room they were to share. It was large. The entire room felt like the size of the apartment Levi had owned. A humongous bed sat in the middle, and a large glass door that opened to a balcony opposite the elevator door. Levi could see the skyline, and he was pretty sure he could get used to that. A dresser sat on the opposite wall of the bed, and he just placed his suitcase next to it, standing in front of the window.

Erwin came up behind him, hands snaking around Levi’s waist. He slapped them away.

“I’m not drunk or tired enough for that, and this place is filthy.” Levi sighed, placing one hand on his hip before turning halfway towards Erwin.

“Alright, well, I’m not going into work until later, let’s clean up.”

“It’s Friday, you don’t need to go in.”

“The fact that I abandoned work yesterday morning for you sent my secretary into a frenzy. I have to go in today, and probably tomorrow. Now make a list of what needs to happen, or I’ll just hire a maid to come and clean the place,” Erwin knew that was a threat, and Levi narrowed his eyes at him. He looked around until he found a desk, and grabbed a small pad of paper and a pen, and began to go through the penthouse.  

The hallway that lead to the penthouse had a couple more doorways down the sides. Some held doors, and Erwin told him which ones were rooms and which one was the bathroom. Levi took a short time to look through the bathroom and deemed it adequate for what he needed, and he told Erwin that they would have sex in the shower within the next week. Erwin didn’t question him. There was a workout room, which Levi guessed he could worry about later when he would use it more. The kitchen was filthy, filled with bags of coffee beans and the garbage hadn’t been taken out. Levi began to compile his list, and it took another half hour for him to finish it.

“Levi, you know I can’t stay that long, I still have to go in today,” Erwin was beginning to grow impatient, they hadn’t done anything other than look through the apartment, and Levi still wasn’t done writing everything that needed to be cleaned.

“I know. I’m going to kiss you, and then you’ll leave me here to clean the place. I don’t trust you cleaning things.” He looked back over the list and nodded to himself, looking up to the taller man in front of him. “Lean down.”

Erwin did as he was told, and Levi stood on his toes to kiss him lightly. He returned to his feet and nodded.

“I guess I’ll see you later tonight then. What would you like for dinner?” Erwin began walking back to the bedroom, and Levi followed him, crossing his arms as he leaned against the door frame. Erwin began to pick out clothes from the dresser, and moved to his closet, pulling several articles of clothing out and placing them on a hanger that he then laid on the bed.

“I want the greasiest pizza you can get, and I want it from the most popular chain restaurant available. I’m not going to dine in those million dollar places, Erwin. There’s better things you could do with your money than only fill your stomach halfway. Also, get some alcohol. I don’t care as long as it can get me drunk tonight.”

“Alright. Would you like to join me in the shower then?”

“No, you need to get to work. Hurry up, I want you out of here.” Levi moved to let Erwin through the doorway, only to have him pull him closer, kissing him lustfully, his hands holding him still. He pulled away, and Levi glared at him.

“Alright, I’ll be out of here within ten minutes. Don’t worry about me. There’s cereal in the kitchen if you want breakfast. Or you can call the kitchen that’s on the fifth floor and they’ll send something up for you. The number is on the fridge.” Erwin kissed him one last time, and walked to the bathroom. Levi couldn’t help but watch his ass as he walked, biting his lip as he did.

This situation that they were in was curious to say the least. Levi had been attracted to Erwin since the first time he’d done a job for him. It had been something small, merely telling another company that if they were to do a certain thing, that someone would be taking an unexpected flight North. He’d actually killed someone the second time, and Erwin had paid him handsomely. Back then Levi had used a name he could no longer remember, and Erwin had been willing to give him more than money. They stayed in bed for an entire Saturday, Erwin fucking him until he couldn’t walk, and then the tall bastard went and rented out the room they were in for a another week. Levi had never had so much sex, and he was pretty sure that would have been the last time they saw each other.

When Levi moved to Trost, he hadn’t expected anything to follow him. He’d recreated himself, or rather he’d finally decided he’d use his real name. He figured he’d had a good run, and that eventually someone would come and do away with him, so why bother in trying to be secret? So far it didn’t matter. He’d carried on for nine months now without even getting into a fist fight. That in and of itself was weird. Seeing Erwin again, not even a week after he’d moved into Trost, had been even weirder, and then the old man had had a job for him then too.

To be attracted to Erwin after so long had not been hard, and Levi could only feel himself sinking deeper and deeper into the pit he was in. He didn’t know if that was good or bad. He did know that letting everything stay the way it was in his apartment was bad though, and so he looked for the cleaning supplies, and began to disinfect the penthouse.

It didn’t take long, his cleaning abilities way beyond what any normal maid or housekeeper could do, and soon enough he was sitting on the balcony by the bedroom, an omelette on a plate, a glass of wine in his hand, and a cigarette in the other. Erwin had left a half hour into his cleaning, smiling at him and telling him to make himself comfortable. He couldn’t feel better than he did now, unless the chair outside had a pillow for him to sit on. Levi ate his breakfast, and returned inside, and began traveling around the place.

The workout room seemed nice enough, with weights, a treadmill, and anything else you expected to be in a gym. That was definitely how Erwin was keeping such a perfect figure. The study, which Levi hadn’t gone into yet, had floor to ceiling bookcases filled with things on every topic. A large chunk of it looked to be stuff that Erwin would read to use for his company, and Levi scanned over the titles. None of them were things he knew, but he didn’t care about that either.

A phone began to ring, and he looked around the apartment before finding his. He didn’t have a set ringtone for anyone, so he picked it up.

“Levi, my intern is coming to the apartment to find something I left. Let him in, and please behave,” Erwin didn’t say hello or goodbye, hanging up quickly after he’d finished speaking. Levi scoffed and tossed the phone onto their bed, one hand on his hip, the other holding his now full glass of wine. By the way he was drinking, he’d be drunk before Erwin even got home from work.

He figured he could do what Erwin said, and went over to the elevator doors, pressing in the key that stood on the ring not too far away. A few minutes later, a boy who couldn’t have been more than eighteen, stepped into the room. He was tan, and his eyes were a fierce green. He didn’t look like he could be an intern for Erwin.

“He said it should be in his study,” the boy said, and Levi nodded, motioning for him to follow. He opened the door to the study and pointed inwards. The boy nodded to him and quickly walked in, shuffling through the things on his desk before he paused, and continued again, picking up a manilla folder and looking through it.

“You better not be trying to pick a code out from anything. I’ll stick a knife up your ass.” Levi leaned against the doorframe, watching the boy turn, his face bright red as he walked back out of the room. “So, your Erwin’s intern? How old are you?”

“17,” it was a short answer, and Levi could tell he was nervous.

“What’s your name?”

“Eren Jaeger, sir.”

“Alright, tell Erwin that I finished off the bottle with the ship on it, and that he can order another for dinner. Go on now,” Levi told him, waving his hand towards the elevator. Eren nodded and almost bowed, and Levi couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. The boy left, and Levi was again alone within the large penthouse.

He had work he could be doing himself, he had several other people who were probably mad at him for not meeting with them yesterday, so he decided he could give them each a call. Levi dug through his suitcase, bringing out a bag of cellphones. He had five of them in total, counting the one Erwin had called on. That one had been bought especially for him, so Levi guessed it would be his one personal cell phone now. The other were all business, and as it so happened, one of them still had some battery power, and began to ring. It was the one for Leonhardt Enterprises.

“Hello, you’ve reached Levi, what do you want?”

“Levi, I needed you to meet with Braun yesterday.” It was Annie, the owner of the enterprise. For a girl of only 21, about eleven years Levi’s junior, she was already ranking high up on his list of powerful people. He should have thought of meeting with her yesterday, but Erwin came first.  

“I know, but I was caught up with another job.”

“For Erwin Smith, I know. The word’s been around that you’ve become his fucktoy,” Levi could tell Annie was smirking. She was trying to control him, to blackmail him with information he hadn’t exactly kept hidden. He didn’t want it to spread though, that he was being used by someone. He wasn’t. He controlled Erwin as much as Erwin controlled him. It was a mutual consent, dammit.

“More like he’s become mine, anyways. I can meet today if you still require. I’ve got plenty of time.” And that was true. He didn’t have anything to do until Erwin was to come home, and after then he might not be leaving the penthouse for a few days, it all depended on whether or not the blonde bastard kept his word.

“Yes, you’re going to meet with Braun and Hoover today. They’ll be by the parking structure next to the mall.”

“There are several malls with parking structure within a twenty mile radius, Annie. I’m gonna need more than that.”

“Well, good luck. I’ve got a conference call I’m needed in. Goodbye, Levi. I hope you don’t disappoint.” The call ended, and Levi groaned before pulling out some different clothes from his suitcase, getting ready to take a shower. He would need to sober up if he wanted to stay on his toes.

Levi decided, fifteen minutes later, that he would definitely be fucking Erwin in the shower, there was no doubt about that in his mind. It was a large tub, with a detachable shower head, and multiple settings. There were two benches on either side of the shower head, and he knew they’d need some cleaning after he was through with Erwin in there. One thing he didn’t like about it though, was that he couldn’t comfortably reach the detachable shower head. It was made to accommodate Erwin, who was already a foot taller than him, so for something to be taller than him, well, Levi decided he didn’t need to use it anyways.

Soon enough Levi was tucking in his cravat, his coat buttoned up halfway up his chest to reveal the gray wool sweater he wore. It was cold enough to snow outside, and he didn’t want to get cold. He gathered his phone, his wallet, his gun that he’d had concealed within his suitcase, and the phone that only Erwin had the number to. He didn’t know if he would call again, but he could never be too careful.

Levi took the elevator downstairs, waiting patiently to go from the twenty third floor to the lobby. The music wasn’t tasteful, and it stopped halfway to let someone else on. It was a young couple, and though they were dressed expertly, by their speech he could tell they were there on their parents money and not their own. They didn’t acknowledge him being there, and he was fine with that.

There were in fact six malls with parking structures within a twenty mile radius of the building Levi now lived in. The only thing he could possibly do was have a taxi cab driver take him to each one. It took a whole hour until Levi stopped him, able to see two large figures standing next to an exit sign to one of the parking structures. He paid the taxi cab driver, not bothering to get change, and began walking towards them. They both saw him too, and he watched them stiffen. He smirked and then erased it when he got close enough to where they could see his face.

“I’m sorry I didn’t meet with you yesterday. I had a previous engagement.”

“You mean fucking big bird?” Reiner Braun joked; he stood well above Levi’s height, almost everyone did, but Levi knew enough about to him to make a quick retort.

“You had one yesterday too, I heard, fucking this guy over here,” Levi motioned towards Bertholdt Hoover. The two were inseparable, and Levi knew they were involved with one another, though if they were to ever to publicize exactly how romantic their intentions were, he didn’t know, nor did he care. At the comment, Bertholdt opened his mouth, and it gave away everything. “Don't worry about what I was doing with my time. I owe you nothing. Now what do you want?”

Levi liked sticking strictly to business, it let him know his employer’s objectives, and it let him obtain them as quick as possible. It was something both parties liked, and Levi happened to get a fuller wallet from it, so he didn’t mind stepping over a few wires.

Reiner looked to Bertholdt, who nodded back and brought out a small folder from his jacket, handing it to Levi. He took the black folder and peeked open.

“A target?”

“Yes. We need them eliminated before the week is out.” When Reiner let Bertholdt speak, he knew things were serious. Whoever they wanted killed, it wouldn’t be easy. Levi nodded, and began making plans for what he would need to do to prepare. He had two days to fill it out.

“I need to know if you have anyone else doing this job because if they do, they could interfere with my plans. Is there anyone?” Levi put the folder in his pocket, and looked back up to them.

“No. We expected to see you yesterday, and we thought it would be enough time to fulfill the mission. We’ll have your pay on Sunday at the cafe inside this mall. Don’t disappoint us.” Reiner and Bertholdt both held their hands out, and Levi shook their hands in turn before leaving. He needed to use a computer, and his taxi was gone. There was no way for him to get home unless he made another call, so instead of that, he headed towards the mall.

It was around noon when he entered the mall, though he hadn’t exactly realized the time, and it was filled with parents and their young kids. Mostly he saw an adult pulling children around trying to distract them while the other parent bought the Christmas gifts. Levi knew there happened to be an Apple store within the building, so he hurried to get there, and then stood in front of one of the laptops.

The amount of things that Levi could get from a computer while people watched, and while people ignored him, was endless. He’d stolen from multiple banks this way, though that was because his employers hadn’t come through with what they’d promised. By moving through the database, changing the programming on the computer, he was able to get into the files of the company he needed.

The person that needed executed was a nobody, at least to Levi. He’d never heard their name before, and so he didn’t much care for what would be the aftermath of their death. It was simple enough to find out where they worked within their building, and then get access to the security cameras within those buildings. People passed on by him, not seeing what he was doing, mostly because they were too self-obsessed with themselves and couldn’t care what a short man was doing in an Apple store that only had one clerk who happened to be on their phone since no one else was there.

Levi picked up on a conversation his target was having, and he heard a few places, one of them the place that he would be that night, and Levi took note. It would be his last night.

It was easier to call for a taxi from the mall, and he told the driver to take him back to his new building, Wall Maria, named such because it was long and very much looked like a wall. He sat in silence, and had planned to until his phone began to ring. Levi raised the glass barrier between him and the driver, and answered it.

“Hello?”

“Where are you?” It was Erwin, and Levi felt a torch touch his mind.

“I’m in a taxi on the way home. Why?”

“I sent Eren back to the penthouse to get something else, but he couldn’t get up. He’s still waiting for you there when you arrive. Tell me the next time you plan on leaving, alright?”

“You worry too much. Maybe you should remember your things. Get back to work.” Levi hung up the phone. There was something about Erwin calling him when he was on a job. Sure, he’d done jobs of the same type for Erwin as well, but it was different. He was going to kill someone, and he didn’t want Erwin to be connected to something like that. He didn’t let himself think about that too much more, instead preparing for what he would need to do that night.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Levi didn’t get home until around half past nine. It hadn’t gone exactly as he’d planned. The target had had bodyguards, and so of course as Levi picked those off, he became more and more aware that he was going to die. It wasn’t easy picking the guards off. One had cut him pretty deep on the side, and the gash was now being covered by several bandages. He’d been able to kill the target though, and after that, he cleaned up after himself, something he prided himself on. No one had caught him yet. He’d even served on a jury in the last two years.

When he got into the building of Wall Maria, he picked out his ‘personal’ phone, turning it on. It began buzzing almost immediately. There were several missed calls and text messages, and then they all stopped, none of them saying they came in past seven. He wondered what had happened, but not enough to think about it anymore. Levi slumped against the elevator wall, waiting for it to take him to the penthouse. When the doors opened he smelled pizza.

He walked into the kitchen to see Erwin on his tablet, an empty glass of wine next to him, and a box of pizza with a few pieces missing. Erwin didn’t look towards him as Levi approached the table, taking a seat and pouring himself some wine in the empty glass. He drank heavily then, and took one of the pieces of pizza.

“You’re in a bit late,” Erwin finally broke the silence, locking the tablet on the table, looking at Levi with a blank stare.

“I know. I didn’t think it would take this long.”

“What were you doing?” Erwin poured himself another glass, taking sips periodically as he waited for Levi’s answer. It was the wine with the ship on the bottle, it seemed as though he’d listened.

“I was working. I’m not anymore. I probably won’t for another week or two. I’m going to take a shower after I finish eating.” It was said presumably that Erwin would join him, and Erwin crossed his arms as he leaned on the table.

“I can get it ready. I’ll pick some new bandages out for you. Eat as slow as you like,” Erwin sighed, standing from his chair and winding around to kiss Levi on the head before he walked down the hall.

He hadn’t tried to hide his wound, there was blood seeping through his shirt, and it had been hidden by his peacoat before, but that was hung up by the door. He hadn’t exactly felt it seep through his shirt. After a few more sips of wine, and two more pieces of pizza, greasy and like cardboard, but something that Levi couldn’t help but love. He left the glass and the crust to his last piece, and headed towards the bedroom.

It hurt to take his shirt off, and he squirmed out of his pants and underwear, sitting on the bed as he tried to catch his breath. He hadn’t thought that the gash had been that deep, but with how much it was hurting, he felt like he would need stitches. Erwin walked into the bedroom, and helped him up from the bed, walking with him to the bathroom.

The water ran red with Levi’s blood as he sat on one of the benches. Erwin stood in front of him, both naked in the spray of water. He used the showerhead on its gentlest setting and washed Levi’s hair, his body, and his cut. Then he dried him off, keeping clear of the gash which still oozed slowly. He took a large bandage and wrapped it around his middle and halfway over his chest. It felt tight and constrictive, but he knew it would help stop the bleeding. Levi let Erwin lift him to the room, he didn’t exactly have the energy to do it himself.

“I don’t want you to do this,” Erwin whispered into his hair as they lay in bed. Levi was on his back, his eyes closed, and his hands rested on his stomach. Erwin was on his side, one arm under his pillow, the other resting below Levi’s neck.

“It’s my job. If I stop, I’ll die, if I continue, I’ll die. I can’t just leave the profession out of nowhere. People don’t like quitters, Erwin. Now go the fuck to sleep, and don’t wake me up in the morning.” Levi wanted to turn away from Erwin, but his left side was the injured one, and so he turned towards the other man, almost mirroring him. Erwin sighed and placed a kiss on his forehead before he closed his eyes. They slept facing one another, Erwin and Levi’s hands barely touching in the middle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh, so Brooke convinced me to continue with this, and I have a plan for it! I don't know how often the updates will be, or if they'll be regular, but look forward to them being at least 2-5k! Thank you for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Erwin ignores Levi while he's in pain in bed, and then caves in. Levi also goes and receives his pay from Reiner and Bertholdt.

Levi spent Saturday in bed. It hurt to move any part of his body, and he hadn’t exactly realized how many bruises he had contracted from the fights with the bodyguards. It’d been too long since he’d done such a job, and he now knew the consequences of it. Erwin the entire day, ignored him, which left him in a foul attitude.

Erwin had, after waking up, told him he needed to do some work, but would be staying in the study for the most part of the day. He threw him a shirt and left him alone. That meant that Levi couldn’t get up to get breakfast, that he couldn’t move to get his cigarettes from his coat and suitcase, which still hadn’t been unpacked. He was useless.

“Erwin!” he shouted, his voice hoarse from lack of liquid. He growled and looked around, finally leaning over to pick up the phone on the nightstand next to him. He dialed the number for Erwin’s cellphone, and then he heard it ring from up on top of the dresser across the room. “Fuck.”

There was no way to contact him, to get the stupid bastard to even help him out of bed. He felt completely useless, and he hated it more than anything. He finally dialed the number of the front desk.

“Hello?”

“Hello, this is Levi Balmont, and I’d like someone to come up to the penthouse. Tell them I need their help moving around, I’ve gotten hurt and I’ve got no one to assist me.” Sure, he hated asking for help, but he did when he needed to, and since Erwin was ignoring him, he needed someone else. He would deal with the embarrassment later.

“Of course, I’ll send someone up right away. Thank you for asking Mister Balmont, and I hope you have a good day.” Levi didn’t reply, and instead just hung up the phone, closing his eyes and sighing. He needed to move, he felt useless, but getting out of bed by himself was out of the question. The best he could do by his own was sit up, and even that was taxing, and having him breathing hard after attempting it twice. He pulled on the shirt that lay close by and waited. Minutes later, a girl entered the room, and she hurried over to Levi.

“Mister Balmont, I’m sorry I’m so late. Let me help you from bed,” she moved as she spoke, offering her arms as support, and he took them, finally able to get on his feet. He closed his eyes, taking a large breath, and nodded his head.

“Thank you. Please assist me to the study,” he choked, and she nodded her head, helping him out of the room. It took five minutes to get there, since she could not lift him, and it wasn’t as though he was particularly light for his stature. When they entered, Erwin didn’t look from his desk, typing away on a laptop, another one open next to him that he kept glancing at. She helped him towards the couch and he sat down, sighing in relief after doing so. “What was your name again?”

“Hannah, sir.” She took a step back, her hands going behind her back.

“Thank you, Hannah. Erwin will assist me from here. You can return downstairs. I’ll swing by to give you something once I’m feeling better.” Levi settled more into the couch and nodded towards her. She bowed her head, and hurried out of the room, closing the door on her way out. He waited until he heard the elevator doors closed.

“Why did you leave me?” Levi knew he was loud enough for Erwin to hear him, but the other man didn’t answer.

“Fucking shit, Erwin. Answer me!”

“I told you I didn’t like what you did, and you went and almost died last night,” Erwin turned sharply in his seat while he raised his voice, his eyes stern, his face almost hostile. He couldn’t hold it long though, soon closing his eyes, leaning his elbow on his arm rest to hold his forehead. “I don’t want that to happen again. You scared me, Levi.”

“It was just a scratch, and I didn’t almost die. I’ve been in worse and on your order.” Levi knew it wasn’t good to bring up things like that, especially when he knew where they now stood. Erin leaned back in his chair, taking a sharp inhale through his nose before opening his eyes again.

“I know, but it won’t happen again. I want you to be safer. Don’t take so many… don’t take so many dangerous jobs, okay? Stick to things that will keep you unscathed. I don’t want to worry if you’ll come home bleeding to death or not, alright?” He stood as he talked, walking over to Levi, feeling his forehead with the back of his hand before opening the door to the study. “I’ll get something for you to eat for breakfast. I’ll be right back.” And then he left the room, leaving Levi alone again.

He groaned, leaning his head back against the couch, exhaling through his nose before he thought about the day before. He had been a bit reckless, but it had also been the first kill job he’d had in a while, and it could just have been from him being rusty, and nothing else. But if that was the case, did that mean he was getting old? He was only thirty two, a reasonable age for anything, that was, everything except dying. The fight from yesterday hadn't been drastic enough to take his life. Sure, he’d lost a lot of blood compared to other fights he’d gone through, but he was fine now. Another day or two in bed, and he’d be able to walk on his own again. How he managed to get all the way back to the penthouse on his own, he didn’t know.

Erwin came back into the room carrying a tray filled with food and a glass of milk. There were eggs, bacon, and waffles on the plate, and he’d even gotten him syrup. Erwin placed the tray on the coffee table, and pushed it a bit closer so Levi didn’t have to strain to reach it.

“I will have to go in for a few hours a bit later. Probably until mid afternoon, and then I’ll be home, and we can do something.”

“I can’t really do anything in this state,” Levi reminded him. He hadn’t been able to get out of bed by himself, what made Erwin think he could do anything else?

“I meant like call city hall and see about a marriage license.”

“Shit,” Levi began to cough, and Erwin held his chest lightly while he heaved forward. It lasted a couple minutes, and Levi’s head hurt tremendously afterwards, his chest aching more than it had before. “A marriage license?”

“You heard me Thursday night. You didn’t exactly say no.”

“I didn’t say yes. You’d fucked me hard, and you expected me to be able to think straight?”

“You could think straight, don’t try to pull that on me. I won’t force you… but I would like it very much.” Erwin stood from the couch, and Levi only looked up at him with his eyes. He sighed, and nodded his head. A smile spread across Erwin’s face, and he leaned back down, kissing his head.

“Not until after Christmas, okay? I don’t want some sappy anniversary like Christmas, or Christmas Eve, nothing like that. Make it the 27th or something. And can you get me some coffee?”

“Of course. I’ll be back.” He continued to smile as he left, and Levi sighed when he did. What had he gotten himself into? Did he really like (love?) that tall bastard enough to marry him? He’d fucked good, he’d have to give him that, but marriage? Levi had never seen himself getting married, at least not since he was in grade school when every person dreamed of being married, having 2.3 children and a dog. He never thought it would happen to him though, and to someone who seemed so wholeheartedly loyal to him. It almost seemed impossible. But here he was, Erwin Smith, CEO of some fancy company that worked with clothing or some shit, and he loved Levi, a man who killed people for a living. There was no question about it, Erwin was madly in love with him, and the only problem Levi could see with getting married to him was the fact that he’d have connections now.

Always, always, always, Levi had been told to not get close to anyone. His friends, acquaintances really, had told him that family and friends and people you were close to in general were dangerous, they were live bait, ready to be picked off for the right price. That wouldn’t happen with Erwin, Levi could make sure of that. At least he hoped he could.

Erwin reentered the room, a steaming cup of coffee in his hands. He handed it down to Levi, and returned to his desk without a word, quickly beginning to tap away on the buttons. Levi watched him until his coffee was gone, and then he turned towards the meal in front of him, which was probably cold by now. He began to eat it anyways, piercing the waffles on his fork and taking small bites. It hurt to swallow, but his stomach was audible, and it hurt. When he finished, he just left his things on the table, and managed to get his legs onto the rest of the couch. He pulled the tapestry blanket off from the back of the couch, and laid it over himself. Levi then let himself fall asleep to the tapping of Erwin’s fingers.

Later on, though Levi didn’t know when, he felt someone shaking his shoulders.

“Levi, you’ve got to wake up. You’ll never get to bed later, come on,” it was Erwin, Levi could tell without opening his eyes. He grumbled, but slowly began to move, only to stop when he turned his chest the wrong way. He took a sharp inhale and shivered.

“Erwin… what time is it?” He rose his hands to his eyes, rubbing them before prying them open.

“It’s half past three in the afternoon. You fell asleep before I left, but I didn’t think I’d come back to you still asleep.” Erwin began to move then, taking the coffee table and moving it away, bending down to pick Levi up from the couch. It hurt to be picked up, but Levi knew it wouldn’t be as bad as walking, so he let Erwin carry him to the bedroom, and rested his head on his pillow after finally being laid down.

“What’s on the agenda for the rest of the day?” He asked, stifling a yawn. He was still tired, and his whole body felt it. Erwin sat down next to him on the bed, taking off his coat and folding it neatly beside him.

“I was going to call city hall, but I think that can wait until tomorrow. We can do whatever you want now. Though I supposed you haven't eaten lunch,” and, as if on cue, Levi’s stomach began to rumble. He grimaced and nodded.

“Can you just get something delivered up here?” He wouldn’t admit it, but he didn’t want to be alone right then. His head hurt, and having to deal with that by himself didn’t sound nice. Erwin smiled and nodded, leaning over to use the phone on the nightstand. He dialed the number, and had them bring up some pasta, fixed any way that was easiest. It made Levi feel at home with simple things, and he nodded as Erwin spoke to the chef.

“It’ll be up in about twenty minutes. I think before then we should change your bandage and see how that gash is. We can clean it again, but if it needs stitches I’m taking you to the hospital.”

“Whatever old man, just help me up again.” Levi held out his arms, and Erwin got off the bed, doing as he asked. He didn’t carry him to the kitchen this time, instead helping him walk, being his beam of support until they got to one of the chairs. Levi sat down and sighed, the strain on his side slowly ebbing away. Erwin pulled his shirt off and paused when he saw the bandages. Red seeped through, but not heavily.

“It’s still bleeding, Levi.”

“It’s a fucking cut on my chest, of course it’s still bleeding. It’ll bleed for the next day or two.”

“I’m going to take you to the hospital to get some stitches. I’m not letting you bleed out on my bed,” Erwin stood up, grabbing a phone hanging on a wall.

“Erwin if you take me out of this apartment I’m not coming back.” It was a serious threat. He did not want to go to a hospital. He’d been there once, and hated it, and he never wanted to go to one again. “Get a fucking doctor or someone to come here, but do not take me anywhere else.”

“Levi, I can’t just have a doctor come here-”

“Can’t you? You’ve got so many strings attached to you I’d think you were a spool. Please, Erwin,” Levi didn’t plead often, but he did now. He especially didn’t want to be jostled around in an ambulance or a car, it would hurt either way. Erwin glanced over him, his eyes lingering where the bandages were.

“Fine. But that means you must comply with them. You can not just wash their advice off, and you will let yourself heal.” Erwin moved over to the phone and began to dial.

“I will, I promise.” Levi sighed, leaning against the back of the chair. He didn’t expect that much to go on that day other him lying in bed, so he didn’t care what the doctor had him do. That of course, was before the doctor had come in and told him what he couldn’t do.

About an hour and  half later, empty plates from dinner beside Levi on the kitchen table, he squirmed and bit down on his lip as the doctor slowly stitched the gash on his side. Erwin held his hand next to him, and he tried not to make any noise. Not having pain killers, or at least not having taken them, sucked, and Levi would demand some afterward so he could function. When the doctor finished, they told him that he needed to move as little as possible the next few days, and that it would be safer for him to stay home. He wouldn’t be allowed to shower for another day or two. The doctor applied a small amount of ointment over the now closed gash, and another bandage.

“I’ll come back in about a week to check up on this. If anything happens before then, call me. Don’t itch it, and don’t get it wet or dirty. Do you understand?” The doctor began to pile his things away, and Levi nodded, lowering his arms.

“I’ll make sure he adheres to these rules,” Erwin told the doctor, smiling his way. “And I’ll make sure to pay you through the hospital within the next few days. Thank you so much Doctor Jaeger.”

“Anytime, and hey, how has Eren been doing? I trust he’s earning his keep?” Doctor Jaeger had his arm through the handles of his bag, no longer caring about his patient below next to him.

“He’s doing fantastic, earning his college money perfectly. He’ll have a position within the company directly after he graduates as well. I couldn’t have asked for a better intern. Have a good day Doctor Jaeger, I’m sure you can see yourself out.” Erwin smiled and placed a hand on the back of Levi’s chair. The other man nodded and smiled, waving as he left the kitchen and finally the apartment.

“He’s the father of that youngass intern you have? How did that come about?” Levi took a large breath and cringed when he did. His chest still hurt, and even more after being closed up. “Also could you get me some painkillers, I need to be able to walk tomorrow.”

“It came about because Doctor Jaeger is my doctor, and I offered his son the internship. He’s been a faithful man, and I thought it was appropriate. His son’s friends are interns there too. It’s the least I can do, and this way my company doesn’t look completely heartless. And why do you need to walk tomorrow?” Erwin was helping Levi up as he talked, again being his support as they walked back into the bedroom.

“I get my pay for the job you said almost killed me from my employers tomorrow, and I need to meet them at the mall.”

“There are several malls within Trost, you know that, right? And you aren’t going anywhere tomorrow. I’m home all day.” Erwin let go of Levi, and made his way over to the dresser, pulling out a drawer and a bottle within it.  Levi sat on the bed, sighing and finally moving to lay against his pillow again.

“I don’t want you with me when I meet them tomorrow. You can go to the same mall, but you can’t stay with me.”

“Fine. We’ll go tomorrow whenever you planned to meet them, and I’ll go Christmas shopping. I haven’t gotten you a present yet anyways.” Erwin opened the small bottle, and after taking a few pills from it, replaced it within the drawer, pushing it closed. He handed them to Levi, and then fetched a quick glass of water. Levi downed the pills and sighed. He really hoped they kicked in soon, because right now his body felt like it was kicking him.

“You don’t need to get me anything. I’m fine.”

“I’m getting you something. It’s Christmas time, and you get presents for the people you care about. You can get something for me, I don’t really care what it is. You can even buy it with my money, but we are going to celebrate,” Erwin moved to sit next to Levi, finishing his sentence as he looked at him from the corner of his eye. He reached over to the nightstand on his side, and opened the drawer to pull out a remote. He pressed one of the buttons, and the wall above the dresser turned to reveal a television.

“What the fuck? If I’d known we had one of these in here I wouldn’t have left the room,” Levi swiped the remote from Erwin, who only chuckled, moving closer to him. He didn’t really care that he ended up leaning on Erwin’s chest. It was comfortable, and warm, and it wasn’t like anyone else was watching. He turned the channel often, but Erwin didn’t complain. It wasn’t long before Levi was dozing off again, falling asleep, his head resting on Erwin’s chest.  

The next morning Levi smiled as he moved around under the blankets. He could feel the heat Erwin gave off, and the soft blanket above him. It was almost perfect, and he didn’t want to wake up just yet, but he had to. Erwin shifted behind him, and his arm wrapped around Levi before he could move any further.

“Just a bit longer,” he whispered into the back of his neck, and Levi complied; it wasn’t like he didn’t want to stay in bed too. He shifted back until Erwin’s chest was flush against him, and he sighed, letting himself fall asleep again.

An hour and a half later, the two of them were up and Levi sat in a chair in front of the shower as Erwin washed his hair. He couldn’t take a shower yet, but he wanted to look presentable, and he hadn’t showered since Friday. Erwin’s hands were gentle, washing and then combing his hair after it dried. They then both got dressed, though Levi was slower in his movement until Erwin handed him more painkillers to take with breakfast, which happened to be some buttered bagels.

Around eleven they were in a limousine, heading towards the mall Levi had indicated. It was the one in the southern district of Trost, and it also happened to be the biggest. They were dropped off, and he and Erwin stood on the sidewalk as the looked at the tall building.

It was beginning to snow lightly, and Levi was glad he’d worn an extra layer under his peacoat. Next to him, Erwin wore a tacky bright orange and white striped scarf with his own coat and slacks. They looked to be quite the pair. Levi didn’t care what Erwin wore though, he needed to meet up with Reiner and Bertholdt and get his money.

“I’m going into the cafe inside, I think it was called… well, I actually can’t remember now,” Levi groaned, stuffing his hands in his pockets. His gun felt hot under his coat, and even Erwin didn’t know he had it, but he could never be too careful.

“I think you mean Springtime Coffee and Goods. We’ve had them cater our morning conference meetings before. I’ll meet you there around twelve, alright?” Erwin smiled, leaning down to give Levi a soft kiss. Levi mumbled an agreement against his, and they both started walking towards opposite ends of the mall.

Upon entering the mall, it wasn’t hard to stop Reiner and Bertholdt. They were both sitting at a table in the cafe, their faces entirely too close to be deemed appropriate for anybody in public. He let them have their small moment, and when they noticed him walking towards them he hurried to sit down, still not confident enough to have prolonged walks.

“I’ve done your work,” Levi told them, relaxing in the small seat.

“Yeah, we know. Here, make sure to give our best to your man,” Riner was covering the fact that this was a payment, not wanting others to think something illegal was going on. “I hope he gets better soon.”

“I do too. Also… he’s instructed me to stop.” Levi wanted them to know that he wasn’t accepting targets anymore. “I’m not going to Target anymore.” It sounded stupid to him, but he knew the two men across from him would understand.

“Alright, fair enough. We’ll see you around, alright? Merry Christmas,” Reiner smiled as he rose from his seat, taking Bertholdt’s hand, the two of them walking away. It seemed less suspicious he guessed, to be somewhere with your partner. He knew they enjoyed it too, and he really did wish the best for them. Levi turned back to look at the small line in front of the counter, and he soon joined it. Another cup of coffee wouldn’t hurt, and he still had another forty five minutes until he was to meet Erwin there. Maybe he could find something for him for Christmas.

The mall was filled with shops of every kind, but Levi decided that staying on the first floor would be best. He didn’t like escalators, and stairs weren’t happening. Everything that Levi thought about getting Erwin ended up sounding stupid. It would be so easy for Erwin to get anything he wanted, that it felt as though anything would fail as a present. That’s how Levi found himself ni Bath & Body Works.

Levi loved the smell of a clean room, or the rain, and of several other things, and he was pretty sure that if the rest of the apartment smelled nice and clean, that Erwin would like that too. That was how Levi found himself buying several candles and candle holders to place around the apartment. He’d never been one for candles before, rather just buying bottles of spray to get the stench out of places. Candles would be nice though, and so he carried his pink and white checked bag out of the store and walked again down the string of shops.

There were more and more people in the mall as time passed, seeing as it was only a few days before Christmas, and it made it easier to blend in with them. It made it harder to find Erwin though. Levi made it back to the cafe around twelve, and kept glancing at his watch, waiting for the taller man to appear. He finally gave up and began to pull out his phone when someone stopped in front of him. Erwin looked down at him, a small smile on his face.

“What took you so long?” Levi waited in line with him, both of them getting coffee this time. His heart felt warm, and he was sure it wasn't just from the warmth of his coat, but he didn’t want to think about it.

“There were several things I wanted to pick up before I came back.” They ordered their drinks, and Erwin called his driver while they drank their coffee at one of the tables. They stayed silent, and Levi knew Erwin was smiling at him the entire time he looked into the dark liquid in front of him. They both left, and Levi took his hand, carrying his bag with the other. He didn’t care if others saw, he could do what he wanted, and if anyone said differently he could glare them down and promise a painful death.

The limousine waited for them, and then they drove home, Levi resting his head on Erwin’s shoulder the entire time back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, this chapter was really fun and cute to write, I hope you liked ;u;


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Christmas, and Levi's not quite sure how he keeps getting hurt.

Christmas wasn’t exactly Levi’s favorite holiday, but he let himself celebrate it with Erwin. The old man woke him up early, made him down his painkillers, and pulled him out of bed to the living room where a large tree waited with several boxes under it.

“You were counting on me moving in, weren’t you?” Levi wanted to head to the kitchen, but Erwin told him that coffee could come after presents. “I’m thirty two, Erwin, not seven. Let me get my fucking coffee and then I’ll humor you with presents.”

“Fine, but you’ll ruin the surprise,” Erwin sighed, getting up to go along with him. Levi just rolled his eyes and walked down the hallway and in through the portal that lead to the coffee machine.

The kitchen was clean, and Levi now understood why Erwin had wanted him to wait. It was spotless, almost as if he’d cleaned it that morning. Erwin stood behind him, a wide smile on his face.

“I wanted to wait until breakfast for you to see all the work I did for you, but I guess it’s fine now.”

“You really cleaned the place... how long did that take you? When exactly did you get to bed last night?” Levi moved along the counter, taking the coffee beans from the large bag they were in and dumping them into a grinder. Monday and Tuesday had been spent in the penthouse, and Levi had mostly stayed in bed, his side still hurting more and more. The pain had died down considerably in the last twelve hours, but it still hurt to breathe too deeply and to turn quickly.

“I didn’t come in until midnight. I didn’t even start until you were out from your medicine,” Erwin moved around him, pulling out various ingredients to make breakfast later.

“You’re too sweet for me Erwin,” Levi turned his head towards the other man, blinking slowly before returning to the coffee grounds. He knew Erwin’s smile was small, his joy hiding behind it as he started to cook. “What the hell did you even get me?”

“You’ll find out soon enough, just make your coffee.”

The rest of the day went by much like that, with Erin telling Levi what to do and what not to do. When they finally opened presents, Levi, truthfully, was a bit scared. When he opened the smaller of the three boxes, he couldn’t help but blush, his face heating up with the blood rushing to his cheeks.

“You got me a vibrator?... And a reservation at some restaurant? Please don’t tell me it’s some fancy place,” Levi groaned. The vibrator of course excited him, he’d never had one, but now that he did, he couldn’t help but imagine what they could do with it. Erwin was shifting over to sit next to him, sitting on his heels as he kissed his head and then his neck.

“Yes, and they’re the beginning part of a gift. You’ll figure out later that they connect. We’re leaving at six.” Erwin’s smile kept Levi on edge, and he didn’t know whether to be excited or scared about what was to happen that night. He settled on being excited.

 

* * *

 

The taxi cab ride went well enough, though Levi kept his hand in his pocket, his finger on the small switch that would turn the setting on the vibrator that just so happened to be up Erwin’s ass. The man in question sat next to him, his legs crossed and his arms over his chest, his brow furrowed in what looked like concentration. Levi knew it was because the setting happened to be on the second of five. 

They walked into the restaurant, Levi didn’t pay enough attention to know the name of the place, and they stopped in front of the hostess’s podium.

“We’re under Balmont,” Erwin said, pointing towards the paper in front of her. Levi frowned, and then flicked the switch to four. Erwin stomped his foot, trying to cough away whatever it was that seemed to be bothering him. The hostess asked him if he was okay and Levi took pity and returned the setting to two. That would show him to use his last name.

Their table was a small booth, and as they sat, their waiter handed them their menus. The waiter told them that he would be back with water, and again when they were ready to order.  

"I think I'll get something worth five stars," Levi glanced over to Erwin, whose face held shock for a moment before he hid his face, his menu covering up the sweat on his brow. The waiter came by, handing them both glasses of cold water, condensation dripping off the sides.

"I doubt they have something like that here. More like two star quality." Erwin was trying, Levi would give him that, so he lowered the setting to one and heard Erwin sigh as he let them both peruse their menus. The waiter only seem confused and left again, shaking his head.

They stayed silent while they looked their menus over, and Levi was tempted to change the setting, and when the waiter came back Levi actually smiled at him. Erwin did as well and Levi loved the false hope he expressed. The waiter turned to Levi and he quickly ordered an appetizer and a dessert, not caring for the main courses they offered. He handed the waiter his menu and looked over to Erwin as he was about to order. Levi turned the switch to five; Erwin almost fell out of his chair.

"Sir! Are you okay?!" 

"Y-yes I'm fine, I'll take what he's having." Whatever made him speak less, and Levi continued to smile. He was pretty sure this was the best Christmas he’d ever had.

After the waiter left, Levi turned the setting back down to two. "You know you're cute when you're trying not to moan."

"I'm going to-"

"Ah ah ah," Levi waved his finger and quickly switched the setting up and then back down, making Erwin jump in his seat. He took a large breath and nodded. "You'll listen to me until we get home. Now, they're coming with our dinner, so behave."

Their appetizers came and Levi thanked them before he looked to Erwin again. He turned the setting up to three, and started to eat, pushing the napkin into his collar. Erwin sighed more often, shifted in his chair, and adjusted his grip of his silverware. Dessert came soon enough afterwards, just a simple cheesecake, and when Erwin tried to thank the waiter, Levi turned the dial up to five for a brief moment. Erwin slammed his hand onto the table, biting his tongue. Levi turned the switch back down.   

Levi signed and paid the receipt, using his own American Express card that linked to their newly joined bank account. He said goodbye to the waiter and they both left the restaurant. They reached the door and Levi turned it up to four, Erwin almost tripped, and his walking became short. They waited for a taxi for a few minutes. And Levi couldn't keep the smirk off his face.

"When we get home, you're going to strip and lay on the bed, and you're not going to touch yourself unless I tell you," Levi whispered as a taxi pulled over and opened the door for Erwin, scooting in after him. The ride home was long, and Levi kept his finger over the switch.

They arrived at the building, and when they got to the elevator, Levi turned it up to five. Erwin stumbled and gripped the bar on the wall. 

"Really?"

"If there was a sixth setting it would be on it right now."

"Levi, I swear to G-God," Erwin began, but Levi moved and pushed him against the elevator doors, standing on his toes to kiss him, holding his face in his hands. 

"Don't worry, this'll be fun. I plan on fucking you methodically, and you'll definitely enjoy it." Levi smiled and kissed him again before the elevator stopped and opened up to their penthouse. Erwin hurried to the room, and Levi could hear his relief when he took the vibrator out. He took his time walking to the bedroom, his chest still feeling strained, and when he walked in, Erwin was sitting on the bed, naked as the day he was born, his face covered in sweat. Levi smirked and he took his clothes off as well, being careful of the bandage that still rested over his chest.

“Levi, we’re getting married tomorrow. Couldn’t we wait until then?” Erwin was simply overstimulated, but Levi knew he wanted this, he’d expressed that in the morning before they’d even finished opening their presents.

“We can do this then too,” Levi replied, walking forward and pushing Erwin further onto the bed. He slowly moved his legs apart, his hands resting on his thighs. Erwin’s kiss was heated, he wanted this more than he’d thought, and Levi was willing to oblige. Levi moved his hand from his thigh, one moving behind Erwin’s neck, the other lowering to tease over his hole.

“Levi, there’s lube in the nightstand.” Erwin almost reached for the nightstand, but Levi slapped it away, removing himself from the other man’s body, and opening the drawer. There were multiple condoms and a few little bottles of lube. Grabbing one of both, and rolling the condom over his dick, Levi began to coat his fingers and his cock.

“I hope you’re prepped enough from this morning,” Levi commented, moving back in front of Erwin. His legs were spread out and it was easy for Levi to slot between them, pushing his middle finger into Erwin’s hole. The taller man gasped, tightening around him. “Loosen up, old man. I’ll never get to fuck you like this,” Levi claimed Erwin’s mouth while he talked, pushing in another finger.

It didn’t take long until Levi had four fingers in him, fucking him with his hand. He pulled them out and wiped them on the sheets, lining himself up and pushing in slowly. Levi held Erwin’s legs next to him as he began to thrust into him. He wanted to go faster, to fuck Erwin as hard as he’d fucked him the week before, but his chest kept him from doing that. It began to feel too tight and his breathing began to hurt.

Soon Levi had stopped completely, trying to catch his breath, holding his chest. He pulled out, moving away from Erwin, sitting on the edge of the bed. He hid the bandage with his hand, trying not to show how much pain he was in. Erwin could see right through him.

“Levi, are you okay?” Erwin moved to sit next to him, and when Levi didn’t reply, he got up and stood in front of him. He saw Levi hiding his bandage, and he moved his hand, keeping it in his grasp. There was a blood seeping through the bandage. “We shouldn’t have done that, we should have waited until you were healed.” Erwin began to curse at himself and he took a nearby towel, cleaning himself off and putting clothes back on. His erection still showed through his pants though.

“Erwin, could you get me some water?”

“What? Yes, of course. Stay here, I’ll get new bandages too,” Erwin touched his shoulder lightly, fast walking from the room. Levi bit his tongue, squeezing his eyes, trying to make the pain go away. He felt idiotic for doing something so stupid. He should have known he wasn’t up for it, but here he was, a horny teenager needing as much ass as he could get. Erwin walked back in, a small bowl in his hands filled with water, another towel hanging over his shoulder with bandages, a small cup was in his other hand.

His hands were delicate as he removed the bandage, and Levi bit down as he did. Erwin sighed at the sight of the gash, and when Levi saw his hands go to the gash he almost fought out of his grasp.

“We’ll need to call Doctor Jaeger back to see if he can do something about this tomorrow. We have our appointment at noon,” Erwin spoke quietly, moving to get the towel and wash away the blood coming out of the almost reopened cut. He then replaced the bandages, pulling tight to hopefully stop the blood flow.

“Okay. Whatever. Can you get me some more painkillers?”

“Of course… what would you like to do the rest of the night?”  Erwin moved back to the dresser, placing the towel on top, and opening the small bottle, dropping a few of the white pills into his hand.

“I’ve lost interest. I’m sorry.” Levi felt horrible. Here he was, promising all sorts of filthy things, and then he had to go and injure himself more. Erwin knelt in front of him, taking Levi’s hands in his own.

“Don’t feel bad, we’ll have other times. Tomorrow is just the beginning, and we can do something nice. You like sitting on the balcony, maybe we’ll just do that. Maybe we’ll sleep the rest of the day or just spend the day resting in bed. Levi, this isn’t your fault.”

“It is though. I was reckless when I was pulling that job last Friday, and I got hurt and you’re having to pay for it,” Levi groaned as he laid down on his back. He wanted to sleep, but his body hurt and his mind was awake. The clock read only half past seven. “Let’s just watch a movie or something. I can’t sleep right now,” Levi stood back up and almost fell back down onto the bed. Erwin helped him up, and they walked into the living room.

They watched several television shows, and switched to a movie around ten. Levi was leaning back on Erwin, whose arms were around him. A blanket covered them both, and it wasn’t too far into the movie that Levi found himself falling asleep.

Doctor Jaeger came by around nine the next morning, after Levi was well awake and on his third cup of coffee. Erwin had been going around the apartment, readying their suits for the small gathering they were going to have at city hall. Jaeger ended up having to restitch the gash, and he chastised the both of them.

“No sex, no physical activity. You’re to heal and rest the next two weeks. I’m not coming back until then.” He was disappointed in them, Levi could tell, and he had good reason to be. He nodded and Doctor Jaeger saw himself out.

The two of them sat in silence for a few minutes, Levi sitting on the counter in the kitchen while Erwin leaned against it next to him.

“It’s your fucking fault because you bought that vibrator. If you hadn’t tempted me, and told me you’d use it during dinner, I wouldn’t have had the need to fuck you so badly.” Yes, he was going to blame this all on the fact that Erwin had bought him a vibrator, it was obviously the source of the problem. Levi got down from the counter and winced, pausing before he walked slowly back to the bedroom. Erwin had gotten out their suits, and they both hung in front of the closet.

Levi’s suit had been fitted for him on Monday; a black suit and silk shirt with a white tie, and now was probably the only time he was going to wear it. Erwin’s suit was almost two months old, at least Erwin told him that when he pulled out the white tuxedo, pressed and ready.

“I got it just for this occasion,” Erwin beamed, taking the suit out of the plastic it had been hung in.

“How fucking long have you planned on marrying me?” Levi began putting on his own suit, moving his arms slowly to not strain the new stitches. Erwin didn’t reply, and Levi dealt with that, he’d get the answers out of him eventually.

It didn’t take long for Levi to be adjusting the tie, only to take it out and replace it with his cravat. He liked to keep to his routine. Erwin stood behind him, watching with bright eyes through the mirror, a smile on his face.

“Stop staring at me,” Levi growled, turning to him and looking up. Erwin leaned down a kissed him slowly, his hands moving to hold Levi’s face. He did not melt into it, at least he would never admit to melting into it.

“Alright, I’ll keep that for after you’re my husband. Let’s get going,” Erwin hooked their arms, and the two of them left the penthouse and headed towards the limousine waiting for them.

When they pulled up to a church, Levi began to curse. He’d thought they were going to city hall, not some place where others would be watching them. As much as he grumbled though, he walked into the church with Erwin and then into the chapel. There weren’t many people there, only a handful of which he knew. Doctor Jaeger was there with his son, Eren, and the other two people with them had to be Eren’s friends, the other kids mooching off Erwin’s money for college. Hanji was there, and they smiled brightly at both of them before turning back towards the front. What really shocked Levi was that Reiner and Bertholdt were there, both smiling as they looked at them. He began to feel more than embarrassed. He hadn’t agreed to a public wedding, but he wasn’t refusing it either.

The pastor at the end of the chapel waited for them to approach him, and when they did, they faced one another. Erwin couldn’t stop smiling down at him, and Levi knew his face was bright as he looked back up. He couldn’t exactly stop himself from blushing when he was getting married to the biggest piece of shit around.

The ceremony was kept short, and Levi thanked everyone for that. There was no after party, there were no excessive pictures taken, just a few taken by the people there. It was fast, simple, and easy, something he began to really appreciate. A silver ring rested around his fourth finger now, and a gold around Erwin’s. Kissing in front of the group felt awkward, even though Levi was more than happy to do it.

When everything was finished, and the group clapped for them, Levi was glad to leave, clutching Erwin’s arm as they walked out of the church. He didn’t expect there to be any press outside the church, so when the first flash came, he hide his face. They only continued in a landslide after that.

“What the fuck,” Levi cursed, and he pulled Erwin along, trying to find the limousine. “What’re they doing here, Erwin? You told me it was a small thing!” The car was nowhere in sight, and Levi began to lose hope. He couldn’t go public like this. He had customers who knew his face, and they would see this and put a price on his head.

“I don’t know. Go back inside, hurry. I’ll see if Hanji has a car we can use.” Erwin turned his back to the press, pushing Levi back inside the church. He closed the large wooden doors behind him and kept his face covered, his eyes shut tight. The group of people who had been there for their wedding stood around, most of them confused, others shocked.

“Are you kidding me? Someone must have tipped them off!” Hanji was more than angry, and they began ball their fists and head towards the door. Levi moved his hands and took a shaky breath.

“You need a car to get out of here, is there a back door?” That was Eren, and Levi couldn’t be more thankful that he was Erwin’s intern. Levi moved away from the door, not daring to look out the window. Erwin came back in only a second after he moved, closing the doors again.

“Our driver told them off. It’s the only way they could have known,” Erwin’s face was calm, but Levi knew better. Under his skin he was seething with rage. Something private like this being taken from their grasp and used as a new headliner? Levi couldn’t believe it had happened, but he could only see it getting worse from there. The pastor approached the group, and he quickly told them that the back door was behind the stage, and that a car could pull around and take them away. Hanji was the first to offer to drive them home, and Erwin thanked them for that.

Within ten minutes, Erwin and Levi were in the back seat of a small Chrysler, Hanji in the front seat and doing their best to drive around the traffic to get them home as soon as possible.

“I can’t fucking believe that happened. Erwin, you should start driving yourself around again. You can’t trust people for hire,” Hanji growled out, taking a sharp left turn and then parallel parking in front of Wall Maria. “I’ll talk to you more when you’re done with your honeymoon. Have a good time, and sorry this had to happen this way.” They smiled and unlocked the doors.

Levi exited the car as fast as he could, not saying goodbye, and just heading for the doors to the building. Erwin was quick to be behind him after saying farewell to Hanji before they left. They stayed silent as they took the elevator up to the penthouse. When it stopped, Levi stormed out of the elevator and into their bedroom, Erwin following behind him slowly.

“Fuck!” Levi began to rip off his clothes, throwing them onto the bed and grabbing a loose shirt from his drawer. He ignored the pain, and ignored the fact that he could very well be pulling the stitches out that he just got. Erwin watched him in silence, standing by the door. Levi pulled on some old pants, ones that hung loose on his waist, and then moved over to the nightstand. “Erwin, where are my-”

“They’re in the dresser.” Erwin nodded his head towards it, and Levi sighed before walking back to the dresser, moving the clothes within it until he took out the pack of cigarettes. To hell with quitting, he needed one, and it’d been too long. He quickly took one out, placing it in his mouth before reaching for the lighter and flicking it on, holding the flame to the end. As soon as it was lit he tossed it aside and took a long drag, shuddering as he felt the smoke go through him. “Could you move outside for that? I don’t want to have to change the sheets again.” Erwin, of course, was worried about the sheets, and he still stood in the same fucking place.

Levi moved outside as he was asked, throwing the door open and moving until his arms were resting on the fence at the edge of the balcony. He didn’t look back, he just looked over the city, letting the wind chill him, and watching as it began to snow. He just continued to pull on his cigarette, pushing his hair back with his other hand, trying to calm himself. It was hard when his already small amount of privacy had been shattered. Erwin joined him not long after, a large sweater on with some sweats, and he leaned over the fence too. They stayed silent until Levi was done with his cigarette and he crushed it in the ashtray.

“I’m sorry that happened.”

“It’s not your fault. It just means I probably won’t be working that much anymore.”

“You don’t have to work at all, you know.” Erwin glanced over at him, then back to the city in front of them. Levi closed his eyes and sighed, running his hand through his hair again.

“I know, but I’m not some freeloader. I want to do something, and what I do is what I’m good at. People need my skills, and I’m willing to use them.” He stood back from the fence and let his hands fall to his sides before putting them in his pockets. Erwin stayed where he was, only turning his head slightly.

“You could find a safer job, one that might not get you killed or arrested. Something that guarantees you coming home every night.”

“Erwin, I’ll stick with what I do now,” Levi told him, and then he heard a faint ring coming from inside the bedroom. Levi opened the door and headed inside to find that the ring was coming from in the lower drawer of his nightstand. Someone had a job for him, and he hoped it was something violent. Erwin came in after him, closing the door against the wind. Levi ignored him as he listened on the phone.

They had one person in mind, another nameless face that Levi didn’t care to learn about; they were only a target. Erwin stayed by the door as he spoke on the phone, and Levi glanced to him once before turning his back on him. He accepted the job and turned back.

“I’ll be back later tonight. You can pick a movie or something for when I come back. Maybe something small for dinner. This shouldn’t take long.” Levi began going through his clothes and pulled out a large coat, and snuck his gun into his pants. Erwin watched him silently, not even nodding. Levi put his boots on and deemed himself ready. His employer had told him where the target could be found for the next four hours, so he had to move fast.

“I don’t want you to go,” Erwin sighed, moving closer to Levi, slowly  placing his hands on his shoulders. “But I know I can’t stop you. Just be safe, please.” He leaned down to kiss him, and Levi kissed back a bit too hard, and then he grabbed a beanie and pulled it over his head before he left the room and the penthouse.

* * *

 

The target ended up being harder to get to, which his employers usually left out. After following their directions he’d found the man on his list down an alleyway that lead towards a larger storage facility. There were two people that he could see, and from a distance one looked like the person his employer described. It wasn’t as hard as his previous job, only one other person he had to take out, but he stayed wary.

Levi approached the open area, staying in the shadows, glad that the snow as muffling any sound he made. The two men weren’t expecting him. As he got closer, he saw a gun on one of the man’s hip, and he knew he’d have to take him out first. He was about to raise his gun when someone grabbed him from behind a gun pointed to his back.  He stayed silent and still before the man began to speak, and then he moved as he heard a train moving over the tracks overhead.

Levi thrust his elbow back, hitting the man’s stomach. He turned and was about to pull his gun out when the man’s fist connected with his face, a ring cutting his upper cheek. Levi stumbled back and didn’t wait now to take out his gun, pulling the trigger. It didn’t take long after he was down to kill the other two. Though one of them got a good swing at his left eye. Levi felt empty as he pulled the trigger, and then stayed that way as he cleaned up his mess.

He didn’t go home after that, he went looking for someone else instead. There were several places he stopped before he found jim, and the entire time his chest and face ached. When he did find his new target, he didn’t pause. Their old driver, the one who’d told on them, who had told the press that the CEO of Smith & Hanji’s Incorporated was getting married to some unknown person, was under his gun. The bullet went between his eyes, and blood splattered on the ground as he fell back in the parking lot. Levi cleaned up his traces, but left the body for the police to find. They wouldn’t be able to get to him, he knew that, and his job was done. He left the scene and hurried to where his employer said he would meet him.

His heart ached, it burned, it made his chest feel tight and it made his whole body ache in a way he’d only felt once after a job gone wrong. He felt horrible. With an envelope stuffed with bills in his pocket, Levi headed home, choosing to walk and let the cold air keep him awake than fall asleep in the backseat of a cab.

The clock read half past eight when he walked into the penthouse, his legs burning from the walk, and his face screaming with pain. He saw Erwin in the kitchen staring into space, his face void of emotion. Levi paused in the doorway and then walked back into their room, peeling his clothes off and putting clean ones on. When he walked into the bathroom to clean up his face, Erwin joined him.

Levi sat on the sink counter while Erwin stood in front of him, washing his face and tending to the cut. He changed his other bandage as well. There were small splotches of blood, but he didn’t say anything, just replaced the cloth and helped Levi pull the shirt back on. He followed Erwin into the bedroom after that, and they both laid down, staring at nothing, not saying a word to one another.

“Erwin,” Levi whispered, half talking into his pillow, mostly not wanting to be heard. Erwin didn’t move, he was facing away from Levi, and he stayed like that for the next few minutes, his chest moving evenly. Levi sighed and moved, curling up against his back before letting himself drift off, the pain ebbing away as his conscious became clouded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, so this is the beginning of the more plot-related part. At least it leads up to it. I hope you're enjoying it so far ;u; thank you for reading!!
> 
> Also, if you have any feedback or anything else to say about this fic, feel free to message me at snktoday.tumblr.com !!!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi almost has a panic attack; he and Erwin finally go on a somewhat honeymoon, and Levi gets another job.

When Levi woke the next morning, the bed was cold and empty. He looked around, trying to find the body that wasn’t there, and gave up soon after, lying back down and letting himself fall asleep again. Dreams of blood weren’t unusual, Levi had gotten used to them almost, but they left a copper taste in his mouth that he couldn’t get out usually the whole day. He dreamed of more than blood though. He stood on a rod, an iron rod that stretched between two large buildings, and he knew he was going to fall unless he did something. To either side there was an arm outstretched, trying to help him to safety. The rod was cracked, it shifted under his feet, and he knew if he didn’t choose a side soon, he would fall to the ground. A clap of thunder over his head made him lose his balance, and he fell forward.

He had never been one for nightmares, he’d definitely never been one for night terrors, but this was one. Levi jolted up out of bed, and he screamed. He hurried to cover his mouth, his eyes stinging as he tried to find something in the bedroom to focus on, to help him calm down. His head hurt, and his chest ached, and he knew something bad had happened in his dream, but he suddenly couldn’t remember. The only thing he could was that he’d been falling, and then he’d woken up.

Erwin burst through the door, glancing around the room until his eyes stopped on Levi. His hair wasn’t combed yet, still messy from bed, and Levi just stared at him, not knowing what to do.

“What time is it?” Levi choked out, trying to get out of bed but failing when his legs wouldn’t hold him up. His chest burned and he placed his hand over his heart, trying to calm himself.

“Just past ten. I let you sleep because, well because yesterday was horrible,” Erwin confessed. He left the door open, taking a few long strides until he was by Levi’s side, helping him up. Levi leaned on to him heavily, and they both walked out to the living room. Levi sat down in the reclining chair, his breathing still deep and unsteady. He didn’t know what was going on, and his heart was still racing.

“I’ll get something for you, just stay here, alright?”

“Okay,” Levi mumbled,  swallowing as he tried to remember his dream. He couldn’t even piece together anything about it other than that he had been falling from some impossible height. It made him tremble, so he pulled the blanket behind him on the chair over his body, hoping to gain some warmth. His mouth tasted like copper, like blood he couldn’t wash out, and he hated it, and that was just one of the things that added to his discomfort. He grabbed the remote that stood on the coffee table and turned the television onto the news channel, he almost wished he hadn’t afterwards, but he didn’t turn it off.

They’d found the body of the driver in the early morning, and Levi was glad he was asleep for the majority of it. They continued on how the cause of death was obviously the bullet to the head, but they began to spout off about how he’d been an informant for a wedding that happened that day. Then the picture of him and Erwin walking out of the small church was put up on the side as the reporter continued with their story. The driver had informed all the news reporters he could about it, though why they were admitting to taking the information, Levi didn’t know or care.

But the next thing they did say, he did care about. They were going to begin an investigation of how he was killed and who could have killed him. They were going to start with Smith and Zoë’s Incorporated, the main building they had in Trost. They moved onto another story after that, but Levi was no longer paying attention. Erwin walked into the room soon after, a tray in his hands with a bowl filled with several pills, and a plate filled with leftovers from who knew when.

“Erwin, they’re going to interrogate us. I don’t doubt we’ll have officers in here before the day is out.” Levi couldn’t look him in the eye, he couldn’t even move his head to turn to him. Everything he’d done had been so smooth before, how had he been so stupid to go after the driver? He could have gotten someone else and then done away with them after they’d finished the job, or told them to erase themselves and get the hell out of there. Either way, he could have been so much smarter if he hadn’t done it himself.

“What are you talking about, Levi? Why would they do that?” Erwin sat down on the couch next to him, taking the remote and muting the television.

“I killed our driver last night. After I finished my job, I went after him and killed him. I was so… I’m still angry at what happened. Fucking shit, Erwin, he invaded our privacy! I had every right to shoot his brains out!” Levi’s breathing began to grow erratic again and he just closed his eyes, trying to calm down. Nothing was alright.

“I’ll handle it. We can leave the city for a few weeks, let this all die down. I have to fly over to Jinae to meet with some of the distributors for the company, and I have a place over there too. It’ll be easy.”

“No, it won’t. I was sloppy Erwin, I made a mess and I didn’t clean it up in time.” He was going to get caught, there was nothing else about it. He’d be found guilty, and he’d be sentenced to death for first degree murder. Which was what it was, but that didn’t make it any less scary.

“You can do one thing. You can get rid of everything, you can stop what you’re doing, and we can.. you can restart somewhere,” Erwin spoke slower near the end, and Levi blinked before turning his head to him.

“You’re suggesting I leave? What the hell just happened yesterday, Erwin? I said I’d be with you till death do us part. I’m not fucking leaving.” Levi had always been told he’d had this kind of loyalty, the kind that he would die for those close to him, but he couldn’t believe it until now, when his own words shocked himself. When had he fallen so much for him?

“Alright, we’ll figure a way out of this. We are going to spend some time in Jinae though. I have a house over there, since it’s a smaller town, and it’s just outside the city limits. Let me make a few phone calls and we can leave tomorrow. And if people ask, it’s because we’re leaving for our honeymoon a day late.” Erwin smiled, as though he’d figured out anything, and Levi just let him think that. He knew it was going to be more complicated than that, they wouldn’t be able to leave until after the police had talked to them, whenever that would be.

“Let’s start packing then,” Levi sighed, getting up from the chair, his legs still a bit unstable. Erwin nodded and they both walked back into the bedroom, pulling large suitcases out.

It was around lunch that there was a call on their phone. Erwin answered it, and Levi watched anxiously. He knew it was the front office, and that they were sending police officers up concerning the death of their driver. That would be the only reason they would be there.

“Of course, I’ll let them right in,” Erwin then hung up the phone, taking a large breath and exhaling. “Get some lotion on that bruise and take a shower. I don’t want them talking to you while they’re here.”

“Alright.” Levi nodded his head, and he hurried out of the bedroom and into the bathroom, locking the door behind him. He heard as Erwin walked over to the elevator doors and inserted the key. The doors opened soon enough, but Levi already had the shower running and was standing to the side of the water.

He wasn’t supposed to be submerging himself in water yet because of the stitches he’d gotten redone the day before, but he could still fein taking a shower to avoid questioning. At least he could for now.

He could still do things in the shower though, like wash his hair by filling up a small cup closeby, and using it to keep water contained to one part. The rest of his body could be washed too, he just needed to keep the left part of his chest dry. It was harder than he thought.

By the time he finished, he was sure the police would be gone, and he and Erwin would be in the clear to leave. He was wrong. As soon as turned the shower off there was a knock on the bathroom door. He froze and swallowed before he spoke up.

“Yes?”

“Levi Smith, this is Officer Nile Dok. As soon as you’re dressed we’d like to ask you a few questions.”

“Of course, I’ll be right out,” Levi’s voice faltered, and he hoped the officer hadn’t heard. He dried himself off with one of the towels that were hanging off the wall, and pulled his clothes back on, making sure he was comfortable. He was sure he’d be going to the precinct within the hour, so he might as well be there in clothes he was comfy in. Levi opened the door to see Erwin standing next to two officers, and his eyes darted quickly to the guns on their hips and back to their faces. He felt naked without his own handgun, but it would be better they not know he had it at all.

“Yes Officer? You had some questions?”

“Yes, I did. Could we make use of your living room, Erwin?”

“Of course,” Erwin smiled and lead them all into the the living room. He and Levi took the loveseat while the officers stood in front of them.

“We’ve got one theory going for this case. We did a background check of the driver, and found that there was substantial evidence of him trading information between two illegal groups, and even hiding as a driver to get information from several different companies. We would like to know if there was anything you might have talked about while he drove you around?” Officer Dok looked between the two of them, and Levi tried not to show the relief he felt by his question. They weren’t questioning on whether or not he’d killed anybody, they were questioning on whether they’d unknowingly given information to another company, or if they knew anything about information being stolen.

“I’ve only been living with Erwin since last week. I don’t know what he could have learned from me,” and just like that, Levi was finished with the questioning. He didn’t have anything else he could add, he’d let Erwin and his business stay out of his life for the most part, and he was happier than ever now that he did. He hadn’t lied, he’d told the truth, and it felt good to do that.

“To be honest, I only ever talked on the phone about meeting times and who needed to be on calls. I never talk about company plans outside my office. He probably only learned about the wedding and thought I was meaning something different. I obviously wasn’t, and he ruined our wedding,” Erwin’s voice grew quiet at the end, and Levi knew what he was doing. He was playing it like it really had hurt them, which it had, but more than he would usually react. He was trying to get the police officers to leave, and Levi loved him ever more for that.

“We’re terribly sorry he had to ruin that for you two. Thank you for answering our questions, we’ll see ourselves out.” The two officers nodded their heads and Erwin and Levi watched as they left the apartment, waiting until the elevator doors closed behind them to move.

“Holy fuck, Erwin, you’re a genius,” Levi moved to sit in his lap, holding his face in his hands. He smiled and kissed him, squeezing the breath out of both of them. Levi leaned back, a smile on his face, and he pressed their foreheads together. “I was scared.”

“Me too. Let’s pack and get out of here and have a real honeymoon.”

That was how Erwin and Levi found themselves with their full suitcases downstairs in Wall Maria, ready to get away from the city that was trying to suffocate them. They got a taxi to take them to the airport, and they were able to use Erwin’s private jet to get them on their way to Jinae. It was a nice and calming ride, and he and Erwin had a couch to themselves they could watch movies on and just talk. It was weird talking about his past, but Erwin insisted, and so he began with his childhood.

“When my parents died… I didn’t go to an orphanage. I stayed on the streets, because two of my friends who were there, I’d met them at school, they weren’t healthy, and I figured I could take care of myself. I started staying clear of the police at nine, which is a long fucking time now that I think about it. They only now caught up to me,” Levi couldn’t help but smile. Erwin chuckled along with him and just continued to look at him.

“I was in private school until college. I graduated from Reiss University with a degree in Business finance. Hanji and I met there, and they double majored in Political Science and Biological Engineering. We started a company for distributing clothes because, well, it was simple enough to start with our past and our already enormous influence, and that way they could still do their experiments on the side. Very boring compared to yours.” Erwin leaned forward, one hand running through Levi’s hair before he kissed him, smiling against his mouth.

“I never went to college. Graduated from highschool, and I got my first hit when I was twenty three. When I turned thirty two, almost to the exact day, this tall, blonde bastard called my new line while I was in Jinae, actually. He asked a couple questions, and he hung up, and called again the next day. It was an easy job, and if I remember correctly we fucked in bed for a week, and he kept moaning the wrong name.” Levi laughed at Erwin’s expression, his cheeks red as roses, but his face as serious as ever.

“Yeah, I think I remember someone named Kaine Roberts asking me to fuck him till he cried, and he had me fucking him everywhere in that hotel room. I also remember him not being able to walk afterwards.” Erwin grew a smirk and it was Levi’s time to blush. In his defense he hadn’t been laid in a long time then, and Erwin had been the first in months.

“Kaine Roberts did ask for that. I think he would probably ask for it again.” Their faces were close still, and Levi kept looking down to Erwin’s mouth, his lips bright from earlier. Erwin was doing the same, his hand holding the back of the couch and the other resting on Levi’s leg.

“Well, Kaine has to wait until his chest is healed,” Erwin finished by kissing him, pulling him closer and trying to suck the air out of him. Levi couldn’t help but moan as Erwin moved his hand from his thigh to his crotch, but he stopped afterwards. “We can’t until another week or two, which sadly means no birthday sex.”

Levi blinked and almost chuckled. “We tried that, and failed.”

Erwin stopped moving and turned his head towards him. “What? I thought your birthday was tomorrow?”

“It was Christmas, you idiot.” Levi rolled his eyes. He hadn’t exactly told him, and he didn’t expect him to just know.

“Well, then I guess that vibrator counted as your birthday present, and we won’t do anything else for a bit I guess.”

“Fuck you.”

“If you want, we can do that when you’re better yes.” Erwin smiled and kissed him again before moving away, the heat between them disappearing.

“You’re a fucking tease, you know that?”

“Yes, I do. You’ve told me that a lot before.” Erwin stood from the couch, stretching his arm out, which made his erection a lot more visible.

“You’re not allowed to go jerk off in the bathroom. You have to wait until we’ve landed, and then you can in the bathroom while I watch you.” Levi smiled in triumph. Sure, Erwin didn’t have to listen to him, but he knew he would. Erwin sighed and ran his hand through his hair before looking down to him.

“Alright, that’s if I’m still wanting by then. How about some wine?” And of course the bastard had wine on his plane. Levi rolled his eyes, but nodded as Erwin walked over to the fridge, opening it to reveal several boxes and a small rack of glass bottles. He pulled one out and uncorked it, and after that they both drank until the bottle was gone.

It was a two hour flight to Jinae, and when they landed, they had another car pick them up and drive them to Erwin’s house. It was a small thing, with only two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen, and a living room. It didn’t have the same resources as the penthouse back in Trost, but it still felt cozy enough for them to live in. And there was no pesky elevator.

They settled their things in the bedroom, leaving their suitcases for later, and Levi finally told Erwin he could strip down and get himself off if he still needed to. He knew he needed to, because he’d palmed his dick through his pants the last ten minutes of the drive from the airport, trying his best to make him flinch and moan while the driver constantly checked back at them to see if they were okay.

Erwin pulled down his pants quickly, throwing the belt across the room and discarding the rest in a pile by the door. Levi just watched him, biting his lip, trying to fight his own dick that twitched at seeing his husband naked. His husband, that was going to be weird for a while.

“You can jerk off in here. Sit in that chair maybe.” Levi suggested, pointing to the chair in front of the single desk they had.  Erwin sat down as he was told and sighed as he began to stroke his dick slowly. Levi couldn’t help but smile, biting his lip as he saw the relief on Erwin’s face. He didn’t let himself get off slowly, Erwin jerked his dick harder and faster, until his breathing was coming short. He came over his hand and over his stomach, and Levi was pretty sure he’d never seen anything so hot.

Erwin melted into the chair, catching his breath with his arms out to the sides. His skin shone and Levi wanted to lick the come off his stomach, but he held himself back. The other man slowly stood and moved towards the bathroom, washing himself off. When he walked back into the room, he stopped in front of Levi, smiling down at him.

“Your turn. You’ve got to keep your breathing normal now,” Erwin mumbled into his lips, kissing him while undoing his button and zipper. Erwin knelt in front of him, pulling his pants and boxers down until Levi’s dick poked out at him. He smiled and kissed the tip, almost as if welcoming a friend, and Levi couldn’t help but blush. Erwin was being so tacky it almost made him want to be zapped off the planet. Then he took his dick into his mouth, and all bets were off.

Erwin had only sucked his dick once before, and that had been a year ago. Levi had forgotten how amazing he was, and he immediately wished he’d prepared himself mentally for Erwin to suck him off. Compared to Erwin, Levi didn’t have that big of a cock, and compared to Erwin’s mouth, his cock was tiny. He was able to pull all of him into his mouth, swallowing around him and licking the underside and the head with his tongue. It felt so good, Levi didn’t notice when Erwin started to push his hand towards his hole, just rubbing over it, not pushing in. It was enough to stimulate him more though, and soon enough, Levi was squeezing his legs together around Erwin’s head, his hands pulling at his hair as he came.

“Shit!” Levi’s mouth stayed open as he lowered from his climax and Erwin sat up, sucking everything up that had come out of him. He was proud of himself, and Levi couldn’t really stand how one man could be that good at sucking cock.  Erwin smiled in triumph. Sure they hadn’t fucked, but they successfully got off without Levi hurting himself. Erwin moved to put some clothes back on, and Levi just stayed sitting on the bed, his hands bracing himself on his knees.

“Consider that a sorry for missing your birthday. Now, you look like you could use something to eat. I have a car in the garage we can take to go eat somewhere.” Erwin stretched his arms as he talked, and Levi couldn’t take his eyes off his stomach as he did.

“Whatever. I’ll meet you out there.” Levi was about to stretch too, but he remembered his chest and decided not to. He grabbed his pants and underwear, pulling them back up and thanking God that Erwin didn’t leave a mess like his previous sexual partners had. Erwin left the room to brush his teeth, and Levi looked around the house for the car keys. He found them and headed towards the garage, only for his mouth to hit the floor at the sight in front of him.

Erwin was usually one for expensive things, and so what Levi saw shocked him beyond belief. Within the garage sat a black 1976 BMW, and it looked as though it hadn’t seen the sun in ages. Erwin walked in behind him and smiled.

“Do you like it?” He moved towards the vehicle, taking the keys from Levi’s hands and unlocking the car.

“Yeah, I mean. It’s real nice.” As soon as Levi finished talking he could hear a ring coming from the house. He turned towards the garage door in confusion and motioned to Erwin he would be right back.

The ringing came from his suitcase, and he vaguely remembered dropping his bag of phones in there. The one that was ringing was the oldest one, and he just glanced at the number before answering.

“Hello?”

“Yes, is Kaine Roberts there?” Levi froze where he stood. He’d only used that name when he had worked in Jinae, and it had been a year since he had. Whoever had gotten the number must not have gotten the memo that Kaine Roberts had moved on. Levi wasn’t going to pass up another job though.

“This is Kaine.”

“Wonderful. I was wondering if you’d be willing to pull a rather big job for me. There would be plenty in it for you, and I can give you details whenever you’re in Jinae again. I remember hearing you were the best one for big jobs, and I wanted the best for this.”

“It just so happens I’m in Jinae now. I’ll meet up with you tomorrow though, I’ve got someone to meet with tonight.” Of course he was talking about Erwin, but this man didn’t need to know that.

“Excellent. I’ll contact you again in the morning. Have a good night Mister Roberts.” The phone call ended, and Levi threw the phone back in his suitcase. He could worry about a big job later. What Levi wanted to worry about now, was how many more blowjobs he could talk Erwin into before the day was over. 


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Erwin and Levi eat dinner with some over excited teenagers, and Levi meets his employer for his next assignment.

After Levi joined Erwin in the car, they sped off towards the smaller part of their suburban area. There were a lot of small houses with nice freshly cut lawns, and it looked so much alike everywhere that Levi wondered how Erwin could find his way around. They finally parked outside of a small local place called Kirschtein’s Diner, and Erwin went in ahead, asking for a table. Not having a reservation, that was something that surprised Levi, though he guessed you couldn’t really get one from a place like this.

They were given a small table, not a booth, and there were two other unused chairs next to them. Levi went over his menu, remembering the last time they had been in this kind of setting and smiling. Erwin noticed it of course, and pushed at his foot under the table. Then someone sat at their table, an enormous man with a menu in his hand, and his hair almost covering his eyes. Levi narrowed his eyes and glanced over at Erwin, who didn’t even bat an eye at the newcomer.

“Who are you?” Levi finally asked, placing his menu down on the table. He realized they were at a smaller place than the last restaurants they’d been to, but not one where people thought they could just join another couple. Erwin looked from Levi to the stranger and smiled.

“This is Mike Zacharias. He’s a friend of mine. I guess I forgot to tell you that he would be joining us. Mike, this is my husband, Levi.” Erwin motioned to Levi and picked his menu back up.

“He smells like your shampoo, and sex.” Mike began looking through his own menu, as though what he’d just said was the strangest thing Levi had ever heard.

“He is my husband, and he’s been living with me for a week now, so I guess that’s to be expected. Maybe we should shower or use some spray after, Levi,” Erwin didn’t even react to what Mike had just said, but Levi was enraged. what the fuck was this guy doing? The fact that he could even smell that! What really ticked him off though, was how he somehow knew he smelled like sex. Levi let it stay though, he just continued looking over the menu, ignoring the others.

Their waiter was a boy, probably about the same age as all the other teens Levi had run into since he met Erwin. His nametag read Jean Kirschtein, so he figured that he was either the owner, or the child of the owner. His hair was almost like Erwin’s except for the fact it wasn’t combed and looked messier than Erwin’s could ever be.

“Hi, I’m Jean. I’ll be your waiter today, would you like anything to drink?”

“We’ll all take water, thank you.” Erwin smiled at him over his menu before continuing to peruse it. Jean was about to continue talking, but his jaw dropped.

“You’re, you’re Erwin Smith! You’re the CEO, you’re-” Jean took a large breath. “Sorry. I’ve just read a lot about you, you’re my role model.”

“I’m flattered to hear that, Jean,” Erwin read off his nametag, and Levi smirked as he saw his husband’s eyes flicker over it on the boy’s chest. “We can talk later, after we eat if you want.”

“Of c-course! I’ll get your water and be back to take your orders right away!” Jean nodded to all of them, and left, almost running into the kitchen. Levi could hear the boy almost yelling at whoever was back there. “Marco, he’s here!”

“I didn’t know you were this popular, Erwin.” Levi smirked and closed his menu, just planning on ordering one of the burgers they served. It wasn’t a terribly large menu, and to be truthful nothing appealed to him much. Mike still went over his.

“Me either. I guess that’s good to hear after what happened. He must not care that his role model’s gay.”

“If sexual orientation decided who you can look up to, then the world’s gone to shit.”

“Agreed,” Mike spoke up, and Levi whirled to look at him.

“Who are you?”

“I’m Erwin’s ex, and also head of distributing.” It was though he was reading ingredients off a list, nothing was fascinating, nothing was important, when Levi thought the first part was extremely important. He hadn’t really thought about Erwin having other boyfriends, though he himself had never really been a boyfriend, just someone, then his husband, which was pretty fucked up now that he thought about it.

Jean came back out of the kitchen, a small platter in his hands carrying three glasses of ice water. He placed them in front of each of them, and placed the platter under his arm. “Are you guys ready to order?”

“I think we are.” Erwin smiled, closing his menu and placing it on the table. “I’ll take the double cheeseburger, though hold the pickles.”

“I’ll have the regular burger, with extra everything.” Levi handed both the menus to Jean, who took them as he scribbled down their orders.

“I’ll take the meat platter.” Mike handed his menu over as well, and Jean stared at him.

“Um, sir, that’s a party platter.”

“I know, oh but you can leave out the sliders. I’ll just have everything else.” Mike smiled, and Levi found it the most unnerving thing. How Erwin had gone out with him, he didn’t know. Though maybe it had to do with there being someone that was bigger than him.

“Alright, I’ll be back as soon as I can with your food. Is there anything else you’d like?”

“Nothing, thank you. If you and your friend want to eat with us, you can. I can answer any questions you ask or just talk about the weather, I don’t particularly mind.” Erwin, being the nice asshole that he was, didn’t care about them invading their dinner, though Levi was sure they wouldn’t be talking about anything anyways with Mike here.

After Jean left, Levi just stayed silent as Mike and Erwin talked business, thinking about the call he’d gotten. He knew he shouldn’t have taken another call, not when he was still healing, and not after everything that had happened with the last one. Still, he felt the need to do something, because otherwise he just felt useless, and he hated that. He didn’t feel sorry for interrupting them.

“I’m taking another job. I’m meeting with someone tomorrow.” It was a simple statement, and unless Mike knew everything about him, he wouldn't know what he was talking about. Erwin stopped talking and turned to him, his brow furrowed.

“I don’t think that’s wise. You’re still injured.”

“It probably isn’t wise, I already agreed to meet with them tomorrow.” Levi replied. He’d done plenty of dangerous things, this wouldn’t be any more so. “I’ll be careful, okay? Don’t worry.”

“Are you a hitman?” Mike asked quietly. Levi’s eyes shot to him, and he scowled.

“Don’t say it in here,” Levi hissed, moving to scan the rest of the diner, to make sure no one could have heard him.

“Let’s just eat dinner and not worry about work right now. We’re on our honeymoon and something like that shouldn’t interfere. And here we are with the food,” Erwin’s eyes looked past Levi, and he turned to see Jean and another boy, just an inch or two taller than him, bringing out their plates. They set them all down, and after Jean made sure everyone had everything they wanted, he took the remaining chair and moved over to allow the other boy to sit next to him.

“Oh, this is my boyfriend, Marco.” Jean motioned to the tan boy next to him. Levi nodded and looked down at the plate in front of him. The burger didn’t look like the best he’d had, but it wasn’t supposed to be a five star restaurant. Picking it up, he took a bite hesitantly, and decided that yes, it was good enough for him. Jean and Marco seemed to be shaking in their seats as they watched them begin to eat, and Levi couldn’t help but smirk as they did. They were nervous, they sat around three extremely dangerous men, and he wasn’t surprised they didn’t know what to do.

“Do either of you have any questions?” Erwin took a napkin from the small dispenser in the middle of the table, lightly patting his mouth as he talked.

“Um,” Jean’s face brightened and he turned to Marco who shrugged, his face turning bright as well. “How, well how hard is it to handle everything?”

“It’s a lot of juggling, but I’m lucky to have Hanji, they’re pretty good at keeping me on my toes, and I have a ton of assistants, and a secretary and an intern. I’m not alone, I’ve got plenty of people to help me.” Erwin seemed to actually enjoy talking to Jean about business, about what he had to go through every day he was in the office, or whatever it was he worked in.

It then hit Levi that he’d never actually been to the building where he worked. Even when Erwin had been hiring him so often, he’d still never laid a foot near the place his business towered over others. Maybe he would have to pop in on him some day. He smiled thinking about it, maybe they could have sex on his desk. The rest of the conversation that passed between Erwin, Mike, and the two boys passed over him, he didn’t know or care about any of it, though it was interesting that Jean would have picked Erwin to be a role model when his husband was a criminal.

“What do you do?” And then suddenly someone had to ask this of Levi. He froze as he was about to take another bite of his burger, and he flicked his eyes to see Marco, who happened to be sitting closer to him, staring at him expectantly.

“I’m a consultant for various things. I keep Erwin in line.”

“Ah.” Marco blushed, nodding his head. The table stood silent after that as they finished their eating. More people began to enter the diner, so Jean and Marco excused themselves to help them. It made the rest of the meal quiet and boring. They finished rather soon after the two boys had left, and after paying the bill Levi was more than ready to go home.

“I think it’s time for a short drive. Just around the suburbs. Levi, are you up for it?” Erwin stood from his chair, and Levi nodded, not really caring. They would get home eventually, and he could do what he wanted then. Mike stayed silent until they were outside, standing in front of their cars.

“Levi, here’s my number. You never know when you might need help.” The taller man reached into the pocket of his jeans and pulled out a small business card. Levi took it from him, glancing at it before placing it in his jeans.

“Alright. I guess I’ll see you around, Mike.” Levi nodded to him, and Mike held out his hand. He shook it hesitantly and then Mike left them in his baby blue mustang. Erwin stood behind him, a smile on his face. “What?”

“Nothing. Let’s just get home,” Erwin said, and he walked over to the driver’s seat, turning the key in the ignition. Levi rolled his eyes and got into the passenger seat before he drove off down the road, heading back to their little house.

They watched a movie, or at least a movie played while they made out on the couch. Levi felt like a teenager doing it, but kissing was nice, and he loved Erwin, a fierce amount though he’d never admit it, and kissing him felt like electricity. They just couldn’t do anything more than that. Though Levi did talk Erwin into giving him another blowjob before they went to bed, and he was pretty sure he’d never come that hard before, or if he would ever again.

Around eleven they were both lying on their backs, though Erwin was asleep, as told by the small even breaths he had, and the small snore he would ignore when he woke up. Levi usually liked sleeping on his stomach, but since he couldn’t do that until he was healed, he was stuck trying to fall asleep on his back. That left him shifting in bed, trying to find a comfortable place to sleep, and by the time he did, the sun was peaking through the curtains.

“Shit,” Levi groaned, rubbing his eyes, realizing he’d wasted another night. He got out of bed and trudged to the kitchen, ready for coffee. The house was still dark, the sun barely rising through any of the windows, so he turned a few of the lights on, and regretted it. He moved through the motions though, getting his coffee ready and made, hating the stupid press Erwin had there. He liked having a pot of coffee much more than just a cup, it meant he could always go back for more if he needed too.

After getting a mug down, he saw that he’d left his phone on the counter, and it was blinking with a red light, which either meant a missed call or a voicemail. Levi made his coffee and picked up the device, unlocking it and looking to see who it was. The call was from a blocked number, which he was used to, and apparently had come only an hour ago. He went and sat down on the couch before he pressed play.

“Kaine Roberts, this is the same man from before with the rather large job. I’ve received notice that they’ve entered Jinae, and I’m not quite sure how long they’ll be here. If you could meet me in the lobby of the Clearwater Hotel around noon, I’d deeply appreciate it.”

Levi sighed and looked at the time. It was almost eight in the morning, which meant he had four hours to get ready, to get presentable. And also explain to Erwin what he was doing, and what they could do when he returned home.

Erwin, as it was, didn’t wake up until ten, and by then, Levi had already eaten breakfast and put the leftovers away in the refrigerator. He’d already chilled the rest of the coffee he’d made, as he had gone along and made a pitcher by using multiple of the small press cups. His suit for the day was picked out, and he’d situated how he’d get there. His lazy ass of a husband came out as he was cleaning the kitchen, his blonde hair a mess, and his boxers looking too small.

“Good morning,” he yawned, covering his mouth after. He walked over to Levi and wrapped his arms around him, smiling and pressing his nose into his hair. Levi went along with him, he was the one leaving that day for work, not Erwin after all.

“You slept well?”

“I did until you left the bed at some ungodly hour.”

“It was a quarter past seven.”

“That’s hellish,” Erwin pulled away before smiling down at Levi and kissing him thoroughly. Levi had to try and not spill any of his coffee, but he kissed him back, his free hand wrapping around the back of his head.

“I have to be somewhere for noon, and I need to take the car,” Levi said as he tried to untangle them. He knew he’d spilled coffee somewhere, but Erwin somehow kept him from seeing it. Erwin sighed and just continued to hold him close.

“No you don’t. You don’t need to work, I don’t understand why you feel as though this is the only thing you’re good for,” Erwin slowly began to let go as he talked, and Levi pulled himself away. He didn’t understand either. There were plenty of things he could do that didn’t involve breaking the law, but he felt so ingrained into the system of it all, that it felt impossible to leave it.

“This will be my last job. I’m stopping after this. I’ll erase my presence to everyone that knows about me, and I’ll destroy everything that could incriminate me. I swear.” It was a large thing, taking away half of who he thought he was and just tossing it aside, hoping to become better, to be able to knit himself into the society Erwin was such a large part of. He could do it though, he knew he could, and it wasn’t like he was alone. Levi knew Erwin wanted this, and now he was ready to give it to him. Erwin looked down at him, his hands moving to rest on Levi’s waist before he leaned down to kiss his forehead and then his mouth.

“Thank you. I will do anything for you Levi, if it means you’re safe.” Erwin kissed him again and again until Levi was pretty sure he didn’t have any coffee left in his mug. This made Erwin happy, it made him joyous, and Levi knew that was important, then when the joy of another person became important to him, he didn’t know or care, and he quickly forgot about that as he stood on his toes to kiss him again.

“I’ll be leaving around half past eleven though, so you’ve got an hour before I start getting ready.” The grin Erwin grew from that was enough to send shivers down Levi’s spine, and he smiled as Erwin took the mug away, and it was quickly forgotten.

Around eleven thirty, and after both of them had taken full advantage of having pizza delivered for some sort of brunch, Levi was ready to go. He finished with his cravat, and Erwin stood behind him as he looked into a mirror to make sure everything was as it should be.

“Be careful.” Erwin kissed the top of his head, his hands resting on his shoulders. Levi rolled his eyes.

“I know.” He wasn’t going to say he was always careful, because that would be an obvious lie, especially with how he still had the faint bruise from the previous fight, and the cut had left a faint scar across his cheekbone. That didn’t mean he wouldn’t try his hardest to remain unscathed, he wasn’t asking for injury. He turned around and took Erwin’s hands in his own. “I’ll try to be back as quick as possible.”

“Alright. The keys are next to the garage door.” Erwin kissed him again, and Levi tried to make it linger. Sure, he killed people, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t enjoy the presence of his husband and everything Erwin was willing to give him. Levi left the room after that, leaving Erwin looking after him.

It felt weird to drive, having not done it for so long, but Levi was able to safely drive around the town of Jinae until he found the Clearwater Hotel, painted a light blue as if to be an ocean in the middle of a city. Levi parked in a guest marker, and looked around before he got out, locking the car behind him and pocketing the pair of keys.

The hotel wasn’t the biggest within Jinae, that being a sister of Wall Maria, called Wall Rose. There was supposed to be another one to complete the triplet, but Levi didn’t bother himself with that. He walked briskly towards the entrance, conscious of the gun he had hiding under his belt. It was cold against his skin, but it was just a precaution. The doors opened for him, and he scanned the lobby trying to find a match to the voice that had called him that morning.

A man ended up approaching him, and he eyed him warily.

“Kaine?” he whispered. Levi nodded, not used to someone calling him that anymore. He’d gone by the alias for over two years and still, people not using his real name was annoying and awkward.

“Yes.”

“Excellent. If you’ll follow me into the cafe, we can talk business.” The man, someone in his older years, maybe later fifties, with graying hair, horn rimmed glasses, and the largest forehead he’d ever seen lead him over to the cafe that sat on the left side of the lobby. There were only a few other people in there, and he guessed that a hotel really wasn’t the best place to be when traveling, especially when there were things to do in the city. They sat down at a table next to the window, and the man went up to the barista and got them some coffee in plastic cups, picking up several packets of sugar and small cream cups.

“So you said this job was big?” Levi took his cup and began to pour the sugar and cream in that he offered. He glanced up at the man who began to pull out a folder, shuffling through it before he found what he wanted.

“Yes. There is a man, a very influential and powerful man that just arrived here yesterday, and his company interferes with my own. I began using Jinae as a distributor long before he did, but since he has started working with another distributor stationed here, he’s almost run me out of business. I need him taken out.”

“Do you think me doing this will suddenly better your company? Because if that’s what you think, you’re mistaken,” Levi stated bluntly. Nothing happened fast in his world, except the bullet going through the target and him getting his pay. Everything else wasn’t his concern.

“I don’t, but I know that his company relies on him more than his partner. I’m willing to pay handsomely for this job. More than you’ve ever made on a job like this.” The man was beginning to sweat, and Levi wanted to tell him to clean himself up, to stop getting so excited over a proposal.

“I’m not sure about that, but… I’ll take it. Who is it you want me to hit, and who am I hitting them for?” Levi held his hand out for the folder, and the man quickly handed it to him.

“I am Pastor Nicholas Brown, and the man I want you to kill for me is the CEO of Smith’s & Zoë’s Incorporated, Erwin Smith.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi drives home to find it painted red.

It was almost impossible for Levi to keep the anger boiling within him from erupting in his fist. The man that sat in front of him just stayed there, as though what he had just said didn’t personally affect Levi at all. It was like he hadn’t just told Levi to kill his husband. As always though in times of business, Levi’s face stayed still, emotionless.

“Ah. I see. Now, unfortunately I’m personally connected to him, and I might be a suspect if he turns up dead one day.” It was a simple enough pass. He would be able to just shake this off, he was fine. It only meant he’d need to get home in a hurry.

“And might I ask how you’re affiliated with him?” The pastor picked up his cup of coffee, taking a sip and holding it in front of him as he waited for Levi to reply. There were several ways he could answer the pastor’s question: he could pull his gun on him, shoot his brains out right there and bloody the entire cafe. There was also the choice of leaving, not doing anything, just grabbing Erwin from the house and leaving the country. That was always a plus; they could both start over and they could both just enjoy fucking each other in a beach town in some place that was hard to pronounce. Then there was the possibility that Levi could fake going through with the plan, but that was pretty much out the window now that he’d already told the dick he was ‘personally affiliated’ with him. Personally affiliated his ass, he was fucking the guy and this asshole didn’t seem to know.

“I’m friends with one of his interns, and we’ve had a few conversations. Enough that I could be a potential suspect.”

“Well, that’s too bad. Don’t worry about it then. You weren’t the only one I called in for this job. Just one from the small list I was able to compile. I’ll forget your name and we can move on,” Pastor Nick smiled as he stood, his coffee cup still in his hand. Levi stood as well, trying not to show the rolling waves of anger he knew crashed against the sides of his mind. He needed to leave as soon as possible. There were other people after Erwin, and they could already be at the house. Why the fuck had he answered the phone yesterday? He could have handled people coming into the house and trying to kill them, but now? When he was so far away from him?

“Thank you. And try and tell whoever gave you my name that Kaine Roberts is gone.” Levi smiled, he did not offer his hand to the other man, instead he left his styrofoam cup on the table, and walked briskly away from the pastor. If he ever saw him again it would be too soon.

The car couldn’t start up fast enough, and Levi cursed until it did, wishing Erwin hadn’t gotten such a fucking old car. The engine finally started to rumble, and as soon as he could pull out of his space and into the road, he did, pushing the limit as much as possible before he was back on the suburban roads; he flew then.

Levi never really noticed how far away the house Erwin owned was from the city, not until his life depended on it and he could find the right fucking street to turn down. He continued to get angry every time someone else wanted to turn and move into the lane. He wanted to push right through them, he didn’t care about their lives right now, the only thing that mattered was for him to get home and for him to see Erwin lazing about on the couch waiting for him to jerk him off like he’d wanted him to. There was nothing else he wanted in the world than to walk in on the old man touching himself.

Finally, Levi turned down the road, and at a glance, the house seemed to be fine. There were no outer scratches from it being ransacked, it looked almost perfect from where he was. Levi parked the car on the side of the road, running and leaving the keys in the ignition as he made his way up the hill. He stopped on the porch, his eyes darting to the door that stood ajar. There were scrapes and scratches next to the doorknob, and he didn’t know what to do.

Levi pushed the door open slowly, and then reached back for the gun in his pants. He pulled it out and readied it in front of him, and then walked further into the house.

Everything lay in ruins. The couch that sat almost in front of the door had stuffing all over it, the fabric across the back torn and cut up. The cushions were rags now lying across the ground, the pillows in no better case. The television was knocked over and cracked, and so were a number of other things within the room. Levi swallowed thickly before continuing, watching his step to make sure he stayed silent.

The kitchen was in no better state, the fridge door stood ajar, and he looked in only to see they’d stolen the few bottles of wine they’d had. The sink was dripping and twisted, and the cabinet doors all stood off their hinges, all threatening to fall off. Some of the tiles in the ground were even cracked, and he watched for those, not wanting their grinding sound filling his head.

The hallway that lead down to their bedroom scared him the most. He began to spot little blotches of red staining the cream colored carpet, which could have been the wine from the bottles they’d stolen, but he knew it wasn’t. The spots of blood began to grow larger, and Levi closed his eyes before he looked inside the door. On their bed lay a puddle of blood, high enough that Levi guessed it was from a shoulder wound, at least if Erwin had been on the bed the time the attackers had come. That didn’t make him feel better, and be doubted anything at this point could make him feel better. He’d let them just come and take Erwin, he let some thugs come and take his husband.

Levi let his arm fall, the gun still strong in his grip. His other hand dug into his pocket and pulled out his phone. There were only a few numbers in that phone; it was his newly designated personal phone, and he didn’t know that many people personally. There was a new number in it though, one he’d put in the day before, and he pressed the call button.

“Hello,you’ve reached Mike Zacharias.”

“Mike, it’s Levi. They’ve taken Erwin.” Levi could barely move as he spoke, staying still as stone, waiting for the other man to reply. It was hard to repress his trembling, but he did as he waited for Mike’s reply.

“Where are you?” Levi began to hear movement on the other side of the phone, and he could only assume Mike was taking precautions, going into a smaller, more secluded area, or leaving where he was to come and find him.

“I’m at the house. There’s blood, a lot of blood. I need to know where they could have taken him.” Mike knew the area, he knew where gangs gathered and where their black market was; Levi didn’t have that delicacy at the moment.

“There are a couple places. You mentioned another job. Who hired you?” Levi heard Mike slam the door to his car and the engine start up.

“Pastor Nicholas Brown. I told him I couldn’t take the job because I was personally connected to Erwin. I told him I was a fucking friend of his intern.” It all seemed so reidiculous now. He should have accepted the job, he should have told the pastor that he could do it. They would have left Erwin alone and expected him to take him out. They could have fucking escaped and gone around all this shit; they could have been somewhere safe, but no; Erwin had been kidnapped and Levi didn’t want to think of where the blood had come from.

“The Pastor, huh? Alright. Drive to the diner we ate at yesterday. I’ll pick you up there.” Mike hung up the phone after that. Levi spit on the carpet, and left the house, trying to force it out of his memory. He didn’t want to think about Erwin’s blood staining anything, especially his hands.

He didn’t speed to the diner, he didn’t want to chance a ticket and being pulled over, not when a life as on the line. When he arrived, Mike’s car was parked in front, and he was on his phone, the car still running. Levi locked his car after exiting and nodded towards Mike before he entered the diner. There were a few people in there and the waiter they’d had the day before was at the counter.

“Jean, watch these for me, I’ll be back for them. You can use the car as long as you fill the tank up.” Levi barely knew the kid, but he adored Erwin so much he knew he could at least trust him somewhat; even if he couldn’t, they could always get another car. Levi didn’t wait for a reply, instead he walked back out and opened the passenger door to Mike’s car and sat down. “Where are we going?”

“Right now, we’re going to watch this video that was sent to my office.”

“I’m not going to fucking watch some stupid youtube video when Erwin could be dead. Do you think this is some kind of joke?” What the fuck was Mike even doing? Did he not care about Erwin at all? Levi ground his teeth and stared at him. Mike’s face didnt change though, and he just pushed his phone into Levi’s hands. The thumbnail of the video was a man sitting in a chair, a bag over his head, and bandages covering his right shoulder. Blood had already soaked through them.

“Watch the fucking video.” Mike pressed the play button and Levi readied himself.

It started with a man with a mask pulling the bag off of Erwin’s head. There was a small trickle of blood coming from his hairline, and and bruises around his neck and over his eyes. Erwin’s head fell down to rest on his chest; he was unconscious. The man that stood behind Erwin began to talk soon after, a gun in his hand pointing at Erwin’s injured shoulder.

“You might have been able to fool that stupid pastor, but I know who you are Levi Smith. As you can see, Erwin is quite comfortable here, and we’re willing to make a little trade. You can bring us a million dollars and we’ll let him go, or you can try and save him, we kill him, and get the job money from the bastard pastor. It’s your choice, and you have until eight tonight before we off him,” the man smiled behind his mask as he finished speaking. He then lifted up Erwin’s head by his chin, squeezing his cheeks together before letting it fall back down. The video ended.

Levi handed the phone back to Mike, who placed it in the cupholder between them. It stayed silent for a few minutes, Levi’s eyes watching the clock on the dashboard tick by; it was just a bit after one in the afternoon.

“We’re going to save him.”

“They’ll kill him.”

“No, they won’t. I’ll kill them, and you’re going to help me. I don’t give a fuck if this is going to dirty your hands, you wouldn’t have come to help me if you didn’t care. Now start the car and drive.” Levi sat back in his seat, his mind racing as he began to devise a plan. There was only six hours and fifty three minutes until they killed his husband, and he didn’t want to waste a single one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah!!!! I'm sorry this chapter is so short, but I have plans for the next (and most likely final [!!!!]) one!! Thank you all for reading this! Your comments and kudos mean a lot!


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi and Mike go and rescue Erwin, and hope he isn't injured too badly.

There were many things that Levi had to figure out before he could even proceed with making a plan. One of those things was finding out where the people had taken Erwin. They hadn’t supplied a location, meaning they trusted Levi’s resources to be able to find them; they expected him to try something. They didn’t expect him to find them early though.

Mike drove them back to his office, where all his threads and strings made a web; they could find anything they needed there. Levi stayed silent the entire time, trying to think of possible surroundings. He ended up picking Mike’s phone back up, and playing the video over and over, trying to make due with the surroundings they provided. One section of the wall of the room they were in, from what he could see, seemed to be made of corrugated metal; the rest was smooth and blank, most likely concrete. It took all of Levi’s effort not to throw Mike’s phone out the window; having to watch the man just move Erwin around like he was a doll, it boiled his blood to magma.

Zacharias Distributing Company had a huge facility. All the buildings matched, which made them hard to distinguish, and they all had a different purpose. There were several warehouses they had on their property, but they seemed to be more in the back, away from the large streets in front. Mike locked the car as they both approached the front building, and Leiv made sure his gun was secure. He wouldn’t need it right now, but he stayed on his toes anyway.

As soon as they walked inside the building, different people began approaching Mike, and he waved them all off, walking to the front desk secretary.

“Have Nanaba come to my office immediately.” He tapped the desk three times, and the secretary nodded, scribbling it down then picking up her phone. They walked towards the elevator after that, Mike pulling out his security badge to allow them access. Levi almost shot the small speaker that rested in the top corner of the elevator.

Mike’s office wasn’t extravagant, and Levi noted that somewhere back in his mind. He was the CEO of the company, but the lack of prestige he had compared to Erwin was phenomenal. Levi sat in the chair in front of the desk while Mike sat behind, unlocking his computer and typing furiously.

“What did you see about the video?” He asked, glancing to Levi before returning his eyes to the screen. Levi guessed he was writing an excuse for not being there in the foreseeable future, however long that would be.

“They’re in a storage unit somewhere in the city.”

“There are three storage units within Jinae’s jurisdiction. Could you see the color of anything?”

“The walls were cream, and there was a corrugated door behind them, but it looked gray, I couldn’t get any other color from it.”

“Hand me my phone.” Mike held out his hand, typing almost as fast with just one. Levi hadn’t realized he still gripped the device in his other hand, and he gave it to him. Mike stopped what he was doing and watched the video twice. The look on his eyes when he saw Erwin used like that made Levi glad that Mike was still his friend.

“They’re blue. Open the door for Nanaba please,” Mike placed his phone down on his desk as he spoke, returning to his typing. Levi then heard a knock on the glass door, and he turned to see someone waiting outside. Levi rose from his chair and opened it, allowing them to walk in. Nanaba was dressed in a fit gray pant suit, and her hair was cut short. She held a small stack of paper in her hands.

“You wanted to see me, Mike?” There were no formalities in her speech; they were close. Levi looked over her again and found a gold ring around fourth finger; he looked to see that Mike had the same one. They were married, at least he presumed to each other.

“Yes. While I’m away you’re to be in charge. I don’t know how long I’ll be away. Erwin’s been kidnapped, and I’m leaving with Levi to get him back.”

“Of course. I’ll see to it that I make sure the trucks headed for Shiganshina leave on time, and that the meeting in Trost runs accordingly.” She bowed her head just a fraction, and began to turn away to leave to the room.

“Nanaba.” Mike rose from his seat and crossed the room in two short strides, taking her hands in his. He kissed her gently and then she left.

“How long?” It wasn't important, but if Mike wasn’t to come back, well, he didn’t know how anything would fare.

“Three years. Now, I’ve pinpointed the storage facility they should be using. It’s one of the largest ones, which means that the unit they are using to keep Erwin hidden is going to be hard to find. I’ve gone and emailed the manager there, and tried to see if I could get a list of the most recent rentals. He said he should be back to me in ten or fifteen minutes. What have you planned out so far about retrieving Erwin without sustaining injury?” It was business now, and Levi suddenly understood. This wouldn’t just ruin his company, this would ruin Mike’s; it was a domino effect on a large scale, and that scared him that more people wanted Erwin alive for money than to simply be alive.

“Erwin’s already sustained an injury.”

“I meant without you sustaining an injury.” Mike’s eyes flicked over to the screen at a small bell. It didn’t seem to be anything important though, for they returned quickly to Levi.

There were several things he thought of in how to get Erwin back. Usually, at least from what he had experienced, storage units usually had two doors, one on either side, which meant that there were two possible doors for them to enter and find Erwin being pointed at with a gun. He and Mike could make sure that they are always on opposite sides, opening both doors to the storage units they checked, ready to kill anyone who threatened them. Levi could also just feign giving them the money, and once Erwin was safe he could kill them. Either way he would kill the bastards that had tried to play with him. He even thought about going around until he found the pastor to put a bullet in his brain too.

“We’ll both carry guns, and we’ll take a bag filled with paper, not money, and we’ll hand it to them, and as they check, we’ll shoot them. It’s a small time frame, and if there are two of them, one will have his gun pointed on us the entire time. We’ll need to be fast, and hope that their aiming isn’t the best. They only got Erwin in the shoulder after all.” Levi thought his plan was thorough, it had been thought out, even if he had only used the drive over there to map it that way.

“I think they were aiming for his shoulder. I think they knew they could get more money out of you than the pastor, and so they’re taking their chances with returning him to you.” Mike’s point made Levi more than angry. They had shot Erwin in the shoulder to subdue him, in order to get him to stop resisting, and it was when Levi realized this that he ground his teeth, his hands clenching into fists.

“Okay, then we’ll have to be more careful. If we get there before the designated time, we might be able to catch them off guard, we just have to make sure they don’t hurt him more than they already have.” He closed his eyes and took a large breath before continuing. “We need to get another gun for this.”

“I can get one from security, don’t worry about it,” Mike waved it off, pocketing his phone as he shut his computer down. He looked through his desk for a few more things, taking them out and placing them on the surface. One of them seemed to be a clearance card, which Levi guessed would get him into the security guards’ locker. Then he picked up the phone again and began dialing a number. When they picked up he began shooting off instructions. “I need a duffel bag filled with about twenty pounds of paper, and get some food in a container for me. Also make sure Nanaba knows about this, and send her the link to the place we’re leaving. It should be in your email.”

“What do we need food for?” Levi whispered, and Mike held up his finger, listening before he said goodbye and hung the phone up.

“I don’t want your stomach rumbling and giving us away. We don’t know when we’ll be able to pull this off, and I would rather not be falling asleep in my shoes. Now let’s go.” Mike picked everything up from off his desk and began walking outside of his office, Levi hot on his heels.

When they got to the bottom floor of the building, there was a duffel bag and a white box waiting or them with the secretary at the front desk. Mike thanked her, and took both of them, then left the building. Levi didn’t know how he could have planned better than him for this, but he didn’t care either. If someone else was willing to help him, well, he just hoped that he wouldn’t get in the way, though that seemed unlikely at this point. Mike opened the trunk and placed the duffel into it, then handed Levi the keys to the car and the white box.

“I’ve got to go back inside to get the gun. Stay in the car, and be ready to leave.” Mike turned back towards the building, and hurried himself inside. Levi shook his head, unlocking the driver’s side door and sitting down, putting the key in the ignition. He buckled, though mostly because he had no clue what else to do while waiting, and closed the door. Mike came back out in only two minutes, a brown paper bag in his hands. He motioned for Levi to get the car started, and he did.

“I could get replaced for this. Now, drive.” Mike closed his door and Levi did as he was told, pulling out of the parking place and zooming down the road to their destination.

Mike flipped over where the radio had been to reveal a screen, and began to put in the address for the storage facility. Levi only glanced a couple times, his hands on the wheel as he focused on driving to get towards the larger road.

“Where exactly am I going?” Levi couldn’t quite get a view of the screen, Mike’s hands being too large to allow it.

“Revees’s Storaging Company. It’s on the other side of the city, so it might take another ten minutes. The manager has already sent me the recent list of renters, and I’ve confirmed a few that are likely to be what we’re looking for.”

“How are you getting this information?”

“I threatened him with our very primitive idea of selling portable storage units. We haven’t gotten it along much, but he doesn’t know that. We’ll probably implement it in another year or two. Anyways, the few that I’ve found have only been rented a couple days. There was one rented out just yesterday, by a John and James Davis. Most likely aliases.”

“Alright, do we have the storage unit number?” Though at this point it probably wouldn’t matter if he got the number when he didn’t even know the address. That was when the GPS piped in, telling him to take a left turn in a third of a mile on Walnut Avenue.

“They rented out a few different units. It looks like five different ones, and they’re spread out all throughout the storage facility. The closest ones are just a few units down from one another. We can start with those ones, and then move on to the others.”

“We can do them at the same time, and then move onto the others. Get them finished quickly, find Erwin the fastest we can.” Levi glanced at the map that now rested on the screen, and he took the turn it told him to.

Mike began to fiddle with the white box, and he pulled out several burgers and some fries. The way he stayed silent made Levi uncomfortable. He was thinking, and didn’t know how to word it to Levi. Maybe he was trying to figure out the best way to do things, which is what he should have been doing, since he was the one that was hell bent on fixing this, on making sure Erwin was saved and the bastards that took him were killed. Levi found himself gripping the wheel harder and not listening to what Mike began to explain.

“We need to stick together. I think, even for those ones, we need to be with each other, on opposite doors. We don’t want to slip up and get killed. This is so dangerous Levi. I think you’re just too used to this kind of situation to really understand what this could be. They could have more men around the place, waiting for us, to just take the money from us and kill us then Erwin and get more. We don’t know enough to be cocky.” Then to finalize what he’d said, Mike took a large bite out of his hamburger.

Levi stayed silent, his knuckles turning white as he focused on following the directions the GPS spewed out to him. Several things went through his mind then. He’d only ever been thinking about how he was going to save Erwin, and not what could happen to the two of them. They could both die and fail here, he could never see Erwin again, and his last memory would be of that bastard touching his face. Mike could die, and he had a wife waiting for him.

“Did you tell Nanaba that you could die today?” Levi glanced over to him, and Mike didn’t speak, just swallowed his bite.

“No.” He continued eating, as though it didn’t make a difference that the last thing he’d told Nanaba was to take care of some business. Levi squeezed the vinyl around the wheel even harder as they drove on, Levi pushing the speed limit the entire time.

 

* * *

 

Mike made them wait until around two until they even approached the storage facility. They’d finished their food, and Mike held the duffel bag in his left hand, the other making sure the gun behind his back wasn’t too obvious under his coat. They went into the front office, Mike explained the situation, and told them that, under no circumstances, were they to call the police unless security camera footage showed they were in danger. After that, they let them out into the small walkways that was Reeve’s Storage.

They stayed silent as they walked down the concrete paths, both with their guns in front of them as they scanned the numbers above the metal doors. The workers in the front had told them that they couldn’t remember anyone entering the place in the last two hours, though they did tell of a shift change, and Levi almost shot at them. They might not be the only ones scouring the small roads of storage units.

They got to the closest unit, number thirty two, and Mike waved for Levi to go around the end of the block of units to get onto the other side. They each had a master key, another thing that bribing had gotten them, and both of them moved to unlock and open their doors at the same time.

The blue corrugated metal doors slid open, revealing an empty unit. Levi cursed and Mike shook his head. They had four more to go. With number thirty two closed, they moved on to the next unit, which happened to be number fifty seven. Again, there was nothing. They abandoned it like the last, and continued towards the next lockers, the ones that were closer together, numbers seventy one and seventy eight, just on opposite ends of the same block.

Unfortunately, by the time they started to walk down to that part of the storage halls, the sky began to get dark. Levi looked overhead to see clouds massing all over the area and beyond, and small flakes start to fall. They only had a little time before it really started coming down, and Levi wished they lived somewhere warmer.

He and Mike continued, their guns held in front of them, turning around corners quick and then proceeding until they found the two of the units. They started with seventy one, and since it was close to the end, they didn’t worry too much. Levi opened his door, and Mike did his as well. The room was empty, like the last ones. Levi groaned and then froze, coming from the end of the block was the sound of one of the metal doors opening. A man with a mask, and more importantly a gun, walked out, turning towards Levi, and he ducked into the container as the shooting began. He looked over to Mike and it seemed like the same thing had happened on his side.

“Get back in there! Shoot him!” One of the voices shouted, and Levi jumped from the unit to see the man that had come out of the door on his side was hurrying back into the other storage unit. He ran, not listening to Mike’s shouts, and he neared the open door. Levi heard shots from inside and turned to see Erwin sitting in the chair, his arm covered in blood and both men above and next to him, one with a handgun to Erwin's neck.

“Put the fuckng gun down,” one of them ordered. Levi couldn’t tell who did, his mind too clouded with red to see clearly. He lowered it and began to bend down to his knees when he saw Mike from the other side of the door, and then Mike quickly shot the one closer to Erwin. The other man watched as his comrade fell, and that was when Levi aimed for his neck and pulled the trigger. A spray of blood jetted from the artery, but Levi didn’t care. He rose from his position and pushed both of the men to the side of the storage unit and turned to assess Erwin’s injuries.

He looked like shit, Levi couldn’t think of anything else to describe him, except for maybe dying, but he didn’t want to think of that. Erwin sat before him, his hands tied behind his back, a piece of duct tape over his mouth. Levi pulled it off and really saw how much pain he was in. The blood running down his arm wasn’t stopping, and the bandages were indistinguishable from the rest of his sleeve. Mike moved then, going behind Erwin to undo the rope around his wrists, then ripping his shirt off and then tying it tightly around his shoulder. Erwin screamed at the pressure, and Levi hoped he never heard that again.

“Call an ambulance, and then help me get him out of here. Leave them there and don’t worry about it right now,” Mike tied off the shirt around Erwin’s shoulder, where the largest wound had been, a bullet having gone clean through his shoulder. There were two more holes in his upper arm, both of them bleeding profusely.

“Tie the rest of his arm with this,” Levi took his jacket off and then his shirt, and Mike began to rip it apart into strips, doing exactly that. Levi picked his phone from his pocket and dialed the emergency number as he scanned the room. There were bullet casings on the ground, and so he walked over and pocketed them when his line was picked up.

“What’s your emergency?”

“We’ve got two dead and one bleeding out at Reeve’s Storage Facility. We need an immediate response.”

“Hold on, sir. We’ve dispatched an ambulance, stay where you are. May I ask your name?”

“Kaine Roberts.” After that, Levi hung up the phone and began to help Mike with Erwin. They lifted him carefully from the chair, and though Mike did most of the work, Levi couldn’t help but feel winded after they’d barely made it far from the unit. That’s when he found that his arm was bleeding too. A bullet had ripped through his jacket and scratched through the skin, and he hadn’t noticed. It wasn’t like it mattered when Erwin was bleeding out buckets and most likely wasn’t going to last the night.

They didn’t even get to the front of the storage facility before there was a stretcher rolled in and they took Erwin off their hands, beginning immediate assessment of his injuries. Levi heard too much  of the word ‘broken’ and ‘beyond repair’ and he honestly didn’t want to see another hospital. He went in the ambulance anyways, Mike staying behind to explain everything to the police, at least explain what he could.

Levi stayed out of the paramedics ways, sitting in the corner of the ambulance as it raced through the streets towards the hospital. They didn’t seem to notice that he was bleeding, but his jacket covered it pretty well. The ride was swift, and Levi couldn’t take his eyes off of Erwin’s shoulder, the skin barely recognizable and the rest of it mangled and torn.

As soon as they got to the hospital, Erwin was taken out on a stretcher, and Levi didn’t really pay attention to what any of them said. He could only make out the words ‘emergency surgery’, and ‘bullet wounds’. Maybe they said something about nerve damage too, but Levi didn’t notice. It was only then that one of the paramedics approached him to look over his body real quick. At sight of the scratch on his arm, the paramedic cleansed it and placed a bandage around his arm. He was then shown inside the hospital and told he could either watch as the surgery took place, or he could sit outside in the hall, and he chose the later. He didn’t know if he’d be able to handle watching them pick away at Erwin’s wounds, only making it hurt worse.

Later on, Levi glanced around the hall, not really having thought of anything coherent the last hour or so, and found that the clock read almost five. Was Erwin still in surgery? Or had he been moved? Levi was sure he would have noticed that, but something in his brain kept him sluggish, it forced him to be slow and not notice things. It felt like he was running through quicksand, everything else able to move freely around him.

Then a surgeon walked out of the doors in front of him, rubbing hand sanitizer carefully over all of her fingers. She sighed and then stopped in front of him.

“Are you Mister Smith?”

“Yes.” Levi answered, nodding his head slowly, stopping only after he realized she understood.

“I’m here to tell you what we’ve had to do. There were three bullet wounds in his right arm. One went through his shoulder, and severed several nerve endings, another hit the middle of his humerus, shattering the middle of it. The last one hit his elbow, shattering that bone as well. There was no chance in being able to save it, the bone damage was too extensive, and he wouldn’t have been able to feel or use it anyways. We’ve gone ahead and amputated his right arm, and we’ve stabilized him for now. He’s about to be moved into a room, if you’d like to accompany him.” When she finished her report, Levi found it absolute. They had done all these things, not a varying amount of them, but exactly what she had said, and they would forever hold true. Erwin would never have a right arm again. It was gone, end of story, goodnight.

“Okay,” was all he could manage to return to this life encompassing statement. He knew he should be angry, he should be angry that they didn’t ask him or even try to ask Erwin if he wanted his arm lopped off, even if would have been useless. It didn’t matter now either way; it was gone. Levi stood from the bench and just stared as Erwin was wheeled out of the surgery room, his chest covered in bandages,and a stump where his right arm used to be. Levi followed the doctors into a large elevator, and again when they walked down a hallway and into a room.

Erwin was given his own room, since he was recovering from his surgery, and Levi was glad when they left him there with him. The door closed after the doctors left, and Levi looked around until he spotted a chair on the right side of the bed. He took his coat off, not caring about the chill from the absence of his shirt, and used it as a blanket. The room stayed silent except for the heart monitor they had hooked up to Erwin, which beeped at a steady pace almost identical to his breathing. Levi let that lull him to sleep; the clock only read half past five.

 

* * *

 

[Six Months Later]

“Erwin, you piece of shit, get off of me,” Levi groaned. Sunlight peaked through the curtains, and it was way past time for them both to be awake. The couple were both still in bed, Erwin glad to lay almost half of his body on top of Levi, holding him close with his left arm. Levi couldn’t really get away from him.

“No. It’s Saturday, we can sleep in another hour.”

“No we fucking can’t, Erwin. I told you we’re cleaning today.”

“I’m not cleaning anything.”

“Well, fuck you too.” Levi finally pushed harder, moving Erwin off of him and he quickly darted from the bed. Erwin frowned at him, and just turned over, facing the opposite wall. Levi groaned and walked around to the other side of the bed. “Tomorrow is gonna be a big day, come on. We’re supposed to have a clean house for this.”

Erwin rolled his eyes, and then his gaze rested on Levi’s chest. A chain rested around his neck, and on it were the bullets and their casing from what seemed so long ago. He reached out with his left hand, touching them and picking them up from his chest. Levi grew quiet.

“You should get rid of these.”

“You know why I don’t.” Levi placed his hand over Erwin’s, and brought it to his lips, kissing it before he lowered it back to the bed. “I’ll go make breakfast. Be out there soon. You know I can’t reach on top of the fridge.”

Erwin chuckled and turned over to use his arm to sit up in bed. He let his legs fall over the side, and reached towards Levi’s waist, pulling him closer to kiss him sweetly. Levi made a disgusted noise, Erwin’s morning breath more than he wanted to deal with, but he kept kissing him anyways.

“Alright, I’ll be out there soon. Make me some green tea please.” Erwin kissed him again before Levi nodded and left the room. Erwin sighed and closed his eyes after he was gone. His left hand went to touch where his arm used to be, just touching it lightly before he let his hand drift to the other side of his chest, resting over his heart. It still pumped fiercely, daring anything to stop it, and he couldn’t help but smile weakly because of it. Erwin stood up after that, stretching his arm and back. He then heard a crash from the kitchen, and he smirked before he went out to see what kind of trouble Levi was causing now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not sure if I'll write an epilogue or not! I may come back eventually and do that, but I'm not sure yet!
> 
> Thank you for reading, your comments and kudos do mean so much!!


	9. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the day after Christmas, and Erwin has got to go into work.

“I swear to God, Erwin. This is going to be horrible because you won’t get your lazy ass out of bed! I’ve been dragging you out since- I’ve been dragging you out too long! You have to be in for work today, and I’m not gonna let you retire until you’re forty!” Levi was pulling in vain on the blankets that covered Erwin on their bed. In his defense, he wasn’t trying very hard to get the blankets away. It wasn’t ideal that Erwin had to go into his office, both of them had dreaded it, but as it was, he only had to go in for one conference call, but they were bound to be waiting for him.

“Can I stay in bed until I’m forty?” Erwin rolled over on the bed, swinging his legs over the edge before covering his mouth as he yawned. He stood and stretched before turning back towards the door where Levi waited for him.

“No. You can’t, but after the conference call today you don’t have to go back in until next Monday. Let’s get this over with, get there and back, and get ready for dinner.”

“I thought you didn’t like going out to fancy restaurants?”

“I don’t, but this is a special occasion, so I’m willing to somewhat humor you.” Levi pulled on Erwin’s hand, leading him out to the kitchen. He already had breakfast ready, though it was just oatmeal, nothing special. For a multimillionaire, Erwin was pretty sure that he ate like someone who worked by the hour. Maybe he would donate to some more charities next month, maybe he would just go and open his own food kitchen for the homeless. He was distracted when Levi placed the honey and syrup in front of him. Sure, Levi didn’t like him adding that much sugar to his oatmeal, but it was the only way he would eat it, making sure that all healthy properties were properly neutralized.

“I’ll just go with you today, and we can go straight to the restaurant afterwards.” Levi began eating his own bowl of oatmeal, drowning his in milk and nothing else. Erwin didn’t know how he’d married him when they obviously weren’t breakfast compatible. They ate in silence until Erwin was trying to use his finger to wipe the extra syrup and honey from the inside of the bowl. That was when Levi snatched it from him. “You don’t need more sugar.”

“I want more sugar.” Erwin stood from his seat and stifled another yawn before looking around. There was coffee in the pot, which he could make after he was dressed, and then there were dishes in the sink from the night before.

“No. You’ll rot your teeth out, and that’s disgusting. You’re clothes are ready for you in the bathroom. Do you want help in the shower today?” Levi placed their dishes in the sink, organizing it before looking back to Erwin. He thought about it, the idea of Levi being in the shower with him appealing, but he didn’t know if he wanted that today.

“Yes, please.” Erwin gave in, not wanting to put in the effort to wash his own hair. Everything had been tiring the past year, everything. Using one hand to do every task he needed took all the energy out of him, which was one of the reasons why he hadn’t quite been as excitable, in any way, since the accident. Levi had accommodated for him though, helping him wherever he could, not saying a thing about it or how it got annoying. Erwin thanked him every night with soft kisses and soft touches over his shoulders and face, but not going further than that. He wasn’t quite comfortable with himself yet, even after a year.

The two of them walked towards the bathroom, and Erwin worked to take his boxers and t-shirt off, which had both become the easiest thing he could do during the day. Levi started the water and made sure the temperature was right before he opened the glass door to let them both into the enormous shower.

“Could you grab the shower head?” Levi asked, pointing vaguely towards it. Erwin smiled and picked it up from where it usually sat, handing it to him. Levi placed one hand on Erwin’s shoulder and guided him to sit on one of the benches. He placed his hand over Erwin’s eyes as he doused his body with the warm water, making sure not one spot stayed dry. Levi then placed the showerhead on the ground, grabbing the bottle of shampoo he’d bought for them at the beginning of the month. “Lean your head back.”

His hands were gentle, incredibly so, and Erwin almost couldn’t believe it. This wasn’t the first time Levi had showered with him since the previous year, but every time he helped him with anything, it just reminded Erwin that his husband was a killer, not any more at least. Levi’s hands ran through his hair, his fingers rubbing into his scalp to get a deep a clean as possible. Having Levi stand over him was odd enough as it was, and he could only see his head from the angle they were both in. Levi finished, pulling his hands away and rinsing them off before he motioned for Erwin to close his eyes, and then he moved the shower head to wash all the soap away.

Erwin didn’t know why, but he took note of the whole process they went through. Levi helped him wash his body, handing him the bar of soap to reach where he could why Levi washed his own hair and body quickly, not paying as much attention to his usual needs in order to accommodate for helping him.  It didn’t take long until the soap slipped out of his grasp, and Levi picked it up, finishing where he left off.

“Sorry.” Erwin mumbled, moving so Levi could reach his back. Levi kept silent, and soon enough was rinsing them both off. He returned the showerhead to it’s place and then followed Levi out of the shower, trying his best to dry himself off, another humbling experience. Levi tied the towel around Erwin’s waist and pulled him by his hand back towards the bedroom, and then made him sit on the mattress.

“You’re wearing jeans today. I don’t care what they say, you run the company so you can do what you want.” He began to pull clothes out of the dresser, pulling a pair of jeans out for Erwin and himself, and just a nice dress shirt. Erwin moved and began getting his clothes on while Levi dressed himself, and though Erwin was wearing business casual, Levi seemed to be wearing his regular coat, though without his cravat this time. The buttons had always been hard with one hand, and sure, Erwin was getting better, but it still upset him that it took so long to do such a menial task. Levi seemed to notice his frustration and moved his hand away while he finished them. They were both ready in no time, with warm footwear and coats for the winter outside.

The small car from Jinae had traveled back with them there after the accident, so it waited in the parking structure for them. Levi unlocked the car and as soon as Erwin was buckled in, they drove down the road. Snow fell lightly outside, not enough to make Erwin worried for a potential roadblock later, but enough that the buzz from the surrounding city couldn’t quite cut in through the glass. The ride there stayed silent except for when Levi pressed down on the breaks, or when another car close by happened to honk their horn. There sat a peace Erwin wished he could find within himself every day, but he was content to have it, even for just a moment.

Smith & Zoë’s Incorporated stood in a building in the middle of Trost. It didn’t tower over others, it was quite small in comparison, but it still looked a giant to Erwin as they parked in the structure close by. He hadn’t noticed he was staring until Levi pulled on his arm, bringing him back to the world.

“Sorry.” And again Levi didn’t reply to him, just linking their arms together as they walked towards where the structure joined the building. Erwin got out his access card, taking his arm out from Levi’s and running it through the small scanner. It unlocked and let them both in, and the last thing he expected was for there to be a group of people waiting for them.

People surrounded the opening into the lunch room, and he realized there were wrapped boxes and cakes and other food on the tables, and a sign above that read ‘Happy Anniversary!’ Erwin looked around, trying to find out who had done this, and then he felt Levi pull on his sleeve.

“You didn’t really think they’d make you come into work on your anniversary did you?” Levi asked softly, a small smirk playing on his lips. Erwin chuckled and closed his eyes, shaking his head before looking back to the group.

“I didn’t know what I was thinking. Who’s all here?”

“Just some of your employees who wanted to celebrate. Hanji couldn’t come, on a business trip you know.”

“Alright. Well, let’s celebrate then. Are we to open these presents now, or have cake first?” Erwin asked the group, and they agreed presents then cake, and so that was what they did.

 

* * *

 

The party didn’t last long, and it turned out that Levi hadn’t actually placed a reservation anywhere, so they lingered and ate lunch there, and talked with whoever had attended. They packed the car with everything they’d received, which happened to be a number of different things that could be used around a home. By the time they were back on the road to get to the penthouse, Erwin wanted to sleep again.

“We’re not going to the penthouse.” Levi told him, and that was when Erwin noticed they weren’t driving home, they were heading for the suburbs around Trost.

“Why not?” There were several reasons swimming along inside his head as to why they wouldn’t return to the penthouse, but he didn’t want to get his mind set on one of them, so he waited for Levi’s answer.

“Because I’ve purchased a house away from all this noise. It’s finally ready with everything we need, including two showerheads in the master bathroom. It’s a late Christmas present, and all the gifts we got today are housewarming presents.”

“When are we going to move all of our things.”

“They did that while we were away. I planned out everything, and they should be finishing putting things away once we arrive,” Levi’s smile stayed small while he talked, but Erwin could tell he was extremely proud of this feat. Erwin smiled too, and he looked back outside the window, taking in the new surroundings.

They arrived at the house exactly when the moving trucks were leaving, several workers waving to Levi as they parked in the driveway. A pair of keys then jingled in his hands, and Erwin took them, placing them in his pocket before he opened the door to stand up. The house was quaint, a pale blue color with a darker wooden tile roof. The door was mostly glass, letting him see into the house before actually entering it. He unlocked the door and pushed it in, taking his first few hesitant steps inside.

“I’ll be right along with you. I’m going to start bringing these inside,” Levi shouted from the car. Erwin waved his hand a him to signal he heard, and continued into the house.

Immediately to his left, right by the entrance, was the kitchen. There weren’t any cabinets higher above the counters, and he guessed that was so Levi could reach all of them. The oven and other appliances matched in their stainless steel appearance. Before he moved on he noticed two small mugs standing alone; one had a large ‘E’, and the other a large ‘L’. Smiling, Erwin moved onto the next room, which happened to be the living room. There were two reclining chairs, though they were almost big enough to be loveseats, and a larger couch in the middle, all facing a tv mounted on the opposite wall. A door led outside just beyond the last reclining chair, and he saw the small backyard they had. There was a covered porch with a bench, and there even seemed to be two strong trees that Erwin thought could later, maybe during the summer, hold a hammock.

Something touched Erwin’s hand, and he turned his head to see Levi waiting for him. He let his husband lead him further into the house. There was a guest bedroom and bathroom down the hall, as well as a study, the bookshelves already filled with all of his collection. Their room was last, and the door opened to reveal nothing special. Their bed was the same one from the penthouse, but the sheets and blankets were changed. Their dresser stood in the same position it had before too. The only difference was that there was no balcony, just a simple window that looked out into the backyard as well.

Levi began to remove their coats, and so Erwin shrugged his off as much as he could, Levi taking it off the rest of the way. Erwin then sat on the edge of the bed, his eyes closed as he inhaled through his nose; the house didn’t smell new, it smelled like home. He almost jerked away when Levi’s hand touched his, opening his eyes to see Levi in front of him, pushing him gently back onto the bed. Erwin let him unbutton his shirt, let his hands roam over his chest, lightly running his fingers in small circles around his collarbones and sides.

“I didn’t take you for a romantic.” Erwin smiled lazily into Levi’s face, chuckling as he frowned at him.

“I’m not. I’m a good husband.” Levi then moved his hands down to Erwin’s belt and pants, slowly removing those as well, leaving him naked atop the bed. Erwin watched as Levi undressed himself, and folded both of their clothes by the dresser before returning, sitting on Erwin’s lap with his hands draped around his neck. They hadn’t been naked like this together, out of the shower at least, for a long time. Erwin, couldn’t remember feeling this calm and collected with his body exposed; it had been so long since he’d thought himself handsome and worthy of love, no matter what Levi did. The empty air where his arm had been told that story; it told everything, and Erwin was glad he didn’t have to explain what he felt to Levi, he just knew.

“I love you.” Erwin choked, his eyes beginning to sting. Whether he was too tired to keep his emotions at bay, or whether he just felt that strongly now, with Levi flush against him, he didn’t know. Levi nodded and leaned forward, kissing him slowly. Erwin wrapped his arm around his back, pulling him closer, thoughts of their bodies together making his heart swell. Levi’s arms fell from his neck, his palms soon placed on Erwin’s chest.

“I love you too,” he replied, and then he kissed Erwin’s forehead, his hands holding his face gently. “Every part of you, no matter what. You’re so important, Erwin. Important to me; nothing else matters.” Erwin couldn’t stop him from there, and just silently let Levi continue to kiss and caress him. There was no sexual nature about it, they weren’t looking to go further than to just be close with one another, and Erwin was content with that.

It was only three in the afternoon, and the were huddled together under the blankets when Erwin could hear Levi’s light snoring. He smiled and wrapped his arm around Levi’s waist, pulling him close and pressing his nose into his hair. Erwin placed a few kisses on Levi’s neck and shoulders before he let himself be lulled to sleep by Levi’s even breathing, and the small sounds of snow falling outside. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought there should be some more emotional moments after the accident, and Erwin and Levi both changed a lot because of it, and so here is the proof that they're not heartless men. Thank you for reading, and all comments and kudos are greatly appreciated!


End file.
